Mary Paulson-Ellis (born 1968) is a Scottish writer and novelist. She writes across the genres of literary, crime and historical fiction. Her work has appeared in the Guardian[1] and been broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[2] Her books have received a number of awards. Paulson-Ellis’ first novel, The Other Mrs Walker (2016) became a Times bestseller and was named Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year in 2017.
Life edit
Paulson-Ellis was born in Glasgow, Scotland and grew up in Glasgow and Norwich, England. She studied politics and sociology at Edinburgh University.[3] She has an MLitt in Creative Writing from Glasgow University.[4]
Prior to becoming a full time writer, Paulson-Ellis worked as a script-editor,[5] producer, fundraiser, arts administrator and tour guide.[3]
Paulson-Ellis lives in Edinburgh, where her novels are set.
Work edit
Paulson-Ellis’ first novel, The Other Mrs Walker[6][7][8] was published by Mantle in 2016.[9] It became a Times bestseller[10] and in 2017 was named Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year.[11] She followed this with The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing[12] which was longlisted for the 2020 McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel[13] and a Historical Writers Association Gold Crown.[14] Emily Noble’s Disgrace, her third novel, was published in 2021.[15]
All three books inhabit what Paulson-Ellis calls ‘the territory of the dead’ and explore the world of people who die with no apparent next of kin.
Paulson-Ellis’ short fiction has appeared in New Writing Scotland, Gutter, the Dangerous Women project and been broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[16][2] She wrote about the world of those who die with no next of kin for the Guardian,[17][18] chose her favourite Scottish writing for Books from Scotland,[19] and selected her Top Ten Books for Remembrance Sunday for Waterstones.[20] In 2021 she wrote the introduction to a new edition of Greyfriar’s Bobby for Macmillan Collector’s Library.[21]
In 2019 Val McDermid selected Paulson-Ellis as one of the ten most compelling LGBTQI+ authors working today.[22] The following year, Paulson-Ellis travelled to Hamburg at the invitation of Louise Welsh to represent Scottish writing as part of the British Council Literature Seminar in Germany.[23] She regularly appears on BBC Radio Scotland reviewing what's current in TV, film, theatre, art and books.[24][25]
Paulson-Ellis is a member of the Scottish Book Trust Live Literature scheme[26] and the Society of Authors.[27]
Awards edit
- 2016 Amazon Rising Star
- 2017 Rising Star, DIVA Literary Awards (highly commended)
- 2017 Breakthrough Author, Books Are My Bag Readers Awards (shortlisted)
- 2017 Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year
- 2020 Historical Writers Association Gold Crown (longlisted)
- 2020 McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel (longlisted)
Bibliography edit
Novels edit
- The Other Mrs Walker (2016)
- The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing (2019)
- Emily Noble’s Disgrace (2021)
Short fiction edit
- "The Cleaner", BBC Radio 4 (2020)
- "Not My Type" in The Art of Being Dangerous, Leuven Press (2021)
- "The Man from ’53" in Lost Looking Found, Merchiston Press (2021)
- "The Things We Leave Behind", BBC Radio 4 (2021)
Non-fiction edit
- "The Curious Case of Mr Lobban", Guardian (2016)
- Introduction to Greyfriars Bobby, Macmillan Collector’s Library (2021)
References edit
- ^ a b "The Things We Leave Behind - The Spoons". BBC Radio 4. 9 May 2021.
- ^ a b "Books from Scotland". The Best of Scottish Books. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Glasgow University Alumni". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Episode 21". Red Hot Chilli Writers Podcast. 11 May 2020.
- ^ Jakeman, Jane (28 January 2016). "Historical fiction: Romances, mysteries, and a misogynist murderer". The Independent.
- ^ Crawford, Angie (24 March 2017). "A Waterstones Exclusive Q & A with The Other Mrs Walker Author Mary Paulson-Ellis". Waterstones.
- ^ Burke, Declan (20 February 2016). "Crime fiction reviews: Sophie Hannah's new murderer has a poetic licence to kill". The Irish Times.
- ^ Ross, Shân (23 January 2016). "Bidding war for Edinburgh author's detective novel". The Scotsman.
- ^ "The Other Mrs Walker by Mary Paulson-Ellis is a Bestseller". Aitken Alexander Associates. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ Smith, Mike (4 December 2017). "'Beguiling' Debut Novel is Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year 2017". The Edinburgh Reporter.
- ^ Massie, Allan (25 September 2019). "Book review: The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing, by Mary Paulson-Ellis". The Scotsman.
- ^ "McIlvanney Prize Longlist 2020". Bloody Scotland. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "The HWA Crowns longlists for 2020". Historia Magazine. 12 August 2020.
- ^ "The Other Mrs Walker". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "The Cleaner". BBC Radio 4. 18 October 2020.
- ^ Paulson-Ellis, Mary (27 August 2016). "'Who were his pals, where did he go?': solving the mysteries of those who die alone". The Guardian.
- ^ "What happened next: the refugee who came to stay and other stories". The Guardian. 24 December 2016.
- ^ "Author Top Ten: Mary Paulson-Ellis". Books from Scotland. August 2016.
- ^ Skinner, Mark (4 November 2019). "Mary Paulson-Ellis on Books for Remembrance Day". Waterstones.
- ^ "Greyfriars Bobby". Pan McMillan. 13 May 2021.
- ^ McDermid, Val (10 August 2019). "The word is out: Val McDermid selects Britain's 10 most outstanding LGBTQ writers". The Guardian.
- ^ "#BritLitBerlin history". British Council: Germany. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ "Film review of IT: Chapter Two, William McCarthy of Augustines". The Afternoon Show. BBC Radio Scotland. 5 October 2019.
- ^ "Basil Brush, Christina Bianco, Climate Change theatre and new musicals at Edinburgh Fringe". Front Row. BBC Radio 4. 15 August 2019.
- ^ "Mary Paulson-Ellis". Scottish Book Trust.
- ^ "Mary Paulson-Ellis". Society of Authors. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021.