Mary Paulson-Ellis Explained

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.

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] 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

Bibliography

Novels

Short fiction

Non-fiction

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mary Paulson-Ellis. Author Interviews. 22 August 2021.
  2. Web site: 9 May 2021. The Things We Leave Behind - The Spoons. BBC Radio 4.
  3. Web site: Books from Scotland. The Best of Scottish Books . 26 June 2022.
  4. Web site: Glasgow University Alumni. University of Glasgow . 26 June 2022.
  5. Web site: Episode 21. Red Hot Chilli Writers Podcast. 11 May 2020.
  6. News: Jane . Jakeman. Historical fiction: Romances, mysteries, and a misogynist murderer. The Independent. 28 January 2016.
  7. Web site: Crawford . Angie . A Waterstones Exclusive Q & A with The Other Mrs Walker Author Mary Paulson-Ellis . Waterstones. 24 March 2017.
  8. News: Declan . Burke . Crime fiction reviews: Sophie Hannah's new murderer has a poetic licence to kill. The Irish Times. 20 February 2016.
  9. Web site: Ross . Shân . The Scotsman. Bidding war for Edinburgh author’s detective novel . 23 January 2016.
  10. Web site: The Other Mrs Walker by Mary Paulson-Ellis is a Bestseller . Aitken Alexander Associates. 26 June 2022.
  11. Web site: Smith . Mike . 'Beguiling' Debut Novel is Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year 2017 . The Edinburgh Reporter. 4 December 2017.
  12. Web site: Massie . Allan . 25 September 2019 . Book review: The Inheritance of Solomon Farthing, by Mary Paulson-Ellis . The Scotsman.
  13. Web site: McIlvanney Prize Longlist 2020 . Bloody Scotland. 26 June 2022.
  14. Web site: The HWA Crowns longlists for 2020 . Historia Magazine. 12 August 2020.
  15. Web site: The Other Mrs Walker . Pan Macmillan. 22 August 2021.
  16. Web site: The Cleaner . BBC Radio 4. 18 October 2020.
  17. Web site: Paulson-Ellis . Mary . 'Who were his pals, where did he go?': solving the mysteries of those who die alone . The Guardian . 27 August 2016.
  18. Web site: What happened next: the refugee who came to stay and other stories . The Guardian . 24 December 2016.
  19. Web site: Author Top Ten: Mary Paulson-Ellis . Books from Scotland. August 2016.
  20. Web site: Skinner . Mark . 4 November 2019 . Mary Paulson-Ellis on Books for Remembrance Day . Waterstones .
  21. Web site: Greyfriars Bobby . Pan McMillan . 13 May 2021.
  22. Web site: McDermid . Val . The word is out: Val McDermid selects Britain's 10 most outstanding LGBTQ writers . The Guardian . 10 August 2019 .
  23. Web site: #BritLitBerlin history . British Council: Germany . 26 June 2022.
  24. Web site: Film review of IT: Chapter Two, William McCarthy of Augustines . The Afternoon Show . BBC Radio Scotland . 5 October 2019.
  25. Web site: Basil Brush, Christina Bianco, Climate Change theatre and new musicals at Edinburgh Fringe . Front Row . BBC Radio 4 . 15 August 2019.
  26. Web site: Mary Paulson-Ellis . Scottish Book Trust .
  27. Web site: Society of Authors. Mary Paulson-Ellis. https://web.archive.org/web/20210806160718/https://societyofauthors.org/writer-Profile?itemID=9638 . 6 August 2021.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mary Paulson-Ellis".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.