There is no stopping the creative fire in the belly of Mary Murphy.
Mary Murphy is an Irish-born author whose work traverses time, place, and the breadth of human experience — from psychological suspense to ancestral memory, lyrical reflection, and childhood delight. An immersive, multi-genre writer, she gravitates toward stories that illuminate, unsettle certainties, and expand the reader’s sense of possibility.
In 2024, she received the Page Turner Award for Best in Genre and Prolific Author and was shortlisted for the International Book Awards.
Spring 2026 New suspense/thriller novel, The Confidence Thief, coming early Spring! 5 Star review from The Wishing Shelf. “A superbly plotted, character-led drama which will keep you rivitted till the very last page. Perfect for fans of crime novels.”
Summer 2025. “One Trail, Many Tales” was published on June 24. Another whimsical and slyly educational adventure through Ballydally Valley with new friends to meet and fresh adventures. This is the fourth book in the Away with the Fairies children’s series. Each book owns fabulous art by Fiona Van Housen, and includes audio, and many extras via QR code. Now available worldwide.
Summer/Autumn 2025
Mary is currently focused on her forthcoming suspense thriller novel, The Confidence Thief.
The novel stems from her 2022 novella, Delilah Speaks, originally published in the anthology, Speaking Of. What began as a 26,00-word work has since evolved into a fully realised 103,000-word psych-thriller. Greatly expanded and reimagined, the novel intensifies the psychological tension with cat-and-mouse pursuit at its core, driving the narrative with taut, escalating suspense.
November 2024. Mary wins the Prolific Author Award and Best in Genre Award in the Page Turner International Book Awards and was shortlisted for the Best Fiction Award. Mary was also a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Awards for her anthology, Speaking Of – her novel, The Emerald Diaries-Secrets of an Irish Clan, and children’s book – Sweet Peas and Bees. The Emerald Diaries is also up for the Best Book Cover Award.
The Emerald Diaries -Secrets of an Irish Clan, is Mary’s substantially revised novel, that has garnered accolades and award nominations for two years running. In August 2024, this novel was a finalist in the International Book Awards, once again for content and cover design with luminaries such as Amy Tan and Sue Grafton.
Speaking Of is an eclectic anthology of multi-genre stories spanning numerous locations, including Greece, America, Ireland, Scotland and Canada. This book contains one novella, one novelette, many short stories, flash fiction and a few poems. This anthology was just a short-listed finalist in the Page Turner International Book Awards for 2024.
In the summer of 2023, Mary Murphy and illustrator Fiona Van Housen once again joined forces to create a whimsical garden adventure, Sweet Peas & Bees.
This book features original watercolours by Fiona and additional audio and extras by Mary for an enhanced reading experience. This book is a finalist in the 2024 International Page Turner Awards and the 2024 Wishing Shelf Awards.
WINNER of BEST IN GENRE AWARD in 2024 in the Page Turner International Book Awards. These fairy books have audio of Mary reading the content and delivering character voices. Whistler Book Awards said, “It takes skill to bring this diversity of dialogue to a story, and even more so to create an array of different voices and accents for the audio version.” Whistler Book Awards, Canada.
This immersive, multi-genre writer does not shy away from diversity of thought but rather embraces the challenges that it sets forth.
Mary is also a prolific musician, writing, recording and releasing ten full-length CDs (which include several Irish language pieces). She has added her voice and whistle to countless artistic projects (including a feature film), has been a touring artist for many years and is co-owner of Dove Creek Recording Studios (DCR is still operational, just closed to the general public as of 2023 after twenty highly successful years.)
Her releases have been hailed as “superlative and engrossing” by reviewers, readers, and listeners. Ms Murphy, born in Wexford, Ireland, is the mother of two grown children and currently lives on Vancouver Island, Canada, with her husband Paul, a dog named Norah and two cats, Lyla and Quilly.
Ms Murphy also created The Gift Of Words, writing classes on her youtube channel. These are lighthearted yet informative guides to help those who have always wanted to pick up a pen, but don’t know how to start.
Praise for Speaking Of
“This is a beautiful piece of writing. It is observational, descriptive, thought provoking and fully realised. There is an intuitive mind at work and a subtle curiosity here that values the reader. It rewards them with a bouquet of delightful stories that beguile and charm with equal measure.”
~ John O’Regan, Journalist/Broadcaster/Lecturer RTE/LCCR – Eclectic Celt, Ireland
“Your writing – weaves into the gardens of fine Irish wordsmiths. Yer a talented wee divil, so keep ‘dippin the pen’ and dream up more yarns, more of your lush images – that have stirred memories and emotions.”
~ Will Millar (Founder of The Irish Rovers)
“Our book club devoured Mary Murphy’s first book, ‘The Emerald Diaries’, and we can’t wait to get our mitts on ‘Speaking Of’. Mary has a way of connecting with the reader on a deep level to the point where the characters jump to life, right off the page, to sit with us as the story unfolds. The room gets very crowded.”
~ Lori K, New York Book Club
