Sally Hayden is an Irish journalist and writer. A foreign correspondent, she has reported from Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda. Her book My Fourth Time, We Drowned, a nonfiction account of irregular migration to Europe through Libya,^[1] was published in 2022 and awarded the Orwell Prize for Political Writing,^[2] the 2022 Michel Déon Prize,^[3] and the Overall Book of the Year at the 2022 Irish Book Awards.^[4][5] Her second book, This is Also a Love Story: Searching for Good in a Divided World, was published in 2026.^[6]

Hayden obtained a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from University College Dublin in 2012. Hayden also holds a master's degree in international relations from Trinity College Dublin.^[7]

Hayden has written for the BBC,^[8] TIME,^[9] The Guardian,^[10] Newsweek, The Washington Post,^[11] Al Jazeera, CNN International, NBC News, Channel 4 News, The New York Times,^[12] Thomson Reuters Foundation News, Magnum Photos, The Irish Times,^[13] The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph,^[14] RTÉ.^[15] In 2014, she was staff writer with VICE News.^[15]

In 2020, Hayden was awarded the UCD Alumni Award in Law.^[16] She was named "Journalist of the Year" in 2023 at the Irish Journalism Awards, "Foreign Coverage Journalist of the Year" in 2019 and 2023,^[17][18] and "Journalist of the Year" at the Irish Journalism Awards in 2025.^[19]

Hayden's debut book, My Fourth Time, We Drowned, was published in 2022, documenting irregular migration through Libya from the perspectives of migrants.^{[20][21][1][22]} The book subsequently became available in four other languages (see § Bibliography).

It was distinguished with the Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2022.^[2]

In May 2023, author Max Porter named it as a "Book to Change the World".^[23] It was named the Irish Book Awards non-fiction, and overall, book of the year in 2022, and was shortlisted for the 2022 Baillie Gifford Prize.^[24][5][25]

For International Migrants Day 2022, Kim Yi-Dionne and Laura Seay of The Washington Post named the book among the top three new books to read on the topic.^[26]

• My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World's Deadliest Migration Route. HarperCollins. 2022. ISBN 9780008445577.
  • En de vierde keer zonken we (in Dutch). Translated by van Riemsdijk, Hans. Nieuw Amsterdam. 23 August 2023. ISBN 9789046831243.^[27]
  • E la quarta volta siamo annegati (in Italian). Translated by Bertola, Bianca. Bollati Boringhieri. 2023. ISBN 9788833941363.^[28][29]
  • Cuando lo intenté por cuarta vez nos ahogamos (in Spanish). Translated by Pelayo Alonso, Lidia. Capitán Swing. 2024. ISBN 9788412779813.^[30]
  • Bienvenue aux enfers (in French). Buchet Chastel. 16 May 2024. ISBN 9782283039458.^[31]
  • Za czwartym razem zatonęliśmy (in Polish). Post Factum. 30 October 2024. ISBN 9788382307955.^[32]
• This is Also a Love Story: Searching for Good in a Divided World. HarperCollins. 2026. ISBN 9780008623265.

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