Mary Paulson-Ellis

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

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

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
  • 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

Novels
  • The Other Mrs Walker (2016)
  • The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing (2019)
  • Emily Noble’s Disgrace (2021)

Short fiction
  • "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
  • "The Curious Case of Mr Lobban", Guardian (2016)
  • Introduction to Greyfriars Bobby, Macmillan Collector’s Library (2021)

References
  1. "Mary Paulson-Ellis". Author Interviews. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  2. "The Things We Leave Behind - The Spoons". BBC Radio 4. 9 May 2021.
  3. "Books from Scotland". The Best of Scottish Books. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  4. "Glasgow University Alumni". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  5. "Episode 21". Red Hot Chilli Writers Podcast. 11 May 2020.
  6. Jakeman, Jane (28 January 2016). "Historical fiction: Romances, mysteries, and a misogynist murderer". The Independent.
  7. Crawford, Angie (24 March 2017). "A Waterstones Exclusive Q & A with The Other Mrs Walker Author Mary Paulson-Ellis". Waterstones.
  8. Burke, Declan (20 February 2016). "Crime fiction reviews: Sophie Hannah's new murderer has a poetic licence to kill". The Irish Times.
  9. Ross, Shân (23 January 2016). "Bidding war for Edinburgh author's detective novel". The Scotsman.
  10. "The Other Mrs Walker by Mary Paulson-Ellis is a Bestseller". Aitken Alexander Associates. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  11. Smith, Mike (4 December 2017). "'Beguiling' Debut Novel is Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year 2017". The Edinburgh Reporter.
  12. Massie, Allan (25 September 2019). "Book review: The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing, by Mary Paulson-Ellis". The Scotsman.
  13. "McIlvanney Prize Longlist 2020". Bloody Scotland. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  14. "The HWA Crowns longlists for 2020". Historia Magazine. 12 August 2020.
  15. "The Other Mrs Walker". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  16. "The Cleaner". BBC Radio 4. 18 October 2020.
  17. Paulson-Ellis, Mary (27 August 2016). "'Who were his pals, where did he go?': solving the mysteries of those who die alone". The Guardian.
  18. "What happened next: the refugee who came to stay and other stories". The Guardian. 24 December 2016.
  19. "Author Top Ten: Mary Paulson-Ellis". Books from Scotland. August 2016.
  20. Skinner, Mark (4 November 2019). "Mary Paulson-Ellis on Books for Remembrance Day". Waterstones.
  21. "Greyfriars Bobby". Pan McMillan. 13 May 2021.
  22. McDermid, Val (10 August 2019). "The word is out: Val McDermid selects Britain's 10 most outstanding LGBTQ writers". The Guardian.
  23. "#BritLitBerlin history". British Council: Germany. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  24. "Film review of IT: Chapter Two, William McCarthy of Augustines". The Afternoon Show. BBC Radio Scotland. 5 October 2019.
  25. "Basil Brush, Christina Bianco, Climate Change theatre and new musicals at Edinburgh Fringe". Front Row. BBC Radio 4. 15 August 2019.
  26. "Mary Paulson-Ellis". Scottish Book Trust.
  27. "Mary Paulson-Ellis". Society of Authors. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021.
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