Lee Wei-Hahn Murray (born 1965) is a New Zealand

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, fantasy, and horror writer and editor. She is a third generation Chinese New Zealander who has written over forty works. She is a five-time winner of the

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

and a twelve-time winner of the

Sir Julius Vogel Award The Sir Julius Vogel Awards are awarded each year at the New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in New Zealand science fiction, fantasy, horror, and science fiction fandom. They are commonly referred to as the ...

. She is most noted for her Taine McKenna military thrillers, and

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

crime-noir series The Path of Ra. In December 2024, Murray was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to literature, particularly speculative literature.

Biography

Murray was born in

Putāruru Putāruru is a small town in the South Waikato District and the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It lies on the western side of the Mamaku Ranges and in the upper basin of the Waihou River. It is on the Oraka Stream 65 kilometres s ...

. She previously worked as a scientist and an advisor for the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

. She is the co-founder of Young New Zealand Writers with Piper Mejia, an organization which has provided development and publishing opportunities for New Zealand school students. She suffers from anxiety and depression. She currently lives in

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

Honours and awards

Murray's anthologies ''Hellhole: An Anthology of Subterranean Terror'' and ''Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women'' won the Bram Stoker Award for Anthology in 2018 and 2020 respectively, while her collection ''Grotesque: Monster Stories'' won the Fiction Collection category in 2020. Other works have won the Australian Shadows and

Sir Julius Vogel awards The Sir Julius Vogel Awards are awarded each year at the New Zealand National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in New Zealand science fiction, fantasy, horror, and science fiction fandom. They are commonly referred to as the ' ...

. She was the winner of the 2019 Bram Stoker Mentor of the year award. She is a professional member of the Horror Writers Association, Australian Horror Writers Association, and the

New Zealand Society of Authors The New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN New Zealand Inc.) promotes and protects the interests of New Zealand writers. It was founded as the New Zealand PEN Centre (Poets, Essays and Novelists) in 1934. It broadened its scope and became the New Ze ...

. In 2020 she was awarded the New Zealand Society of Authors Honorary Literary Fellowship. In 2021 she was awarded the Grimshaw Sargeson 2021 Fellowship. She won the NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize 2023 with her manuscript ''Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud.'' Lee Murray ONZM investiture

In the

2025 New Year Honours The 2025 New Year Honours are appointments by King Charles III among the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The ...

, Murray was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature, particularly speculative literature.

Works as author

Works as editor

Bibliography

''Taine McKenna Adventures''

# ''Into the Mist'' (2017) # ''Into the Sounds'' (2018) # ''Into the Ashes'' (2019)

Standalone novels

* ''Misplaced'' (2013)

Collections

* ''Beyond This Story'' (2014) * ''Grotesque: Monster Stories'' (2020)

Edited works

* ''At the Edge'' (2017) * ''Hellhole: An Anthology of Subterranean Terror'' (2017) * ''Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women'' (2 * ''Midnight Echo'' #15 (2020) * ''Asian Ghost Short Stories'' (2022) * ''Unquiet Spirits: Essays by Asian Women in Horror'' (2023)

Contributions to anthologies

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Lee Living people 1965 births New Zealand science fiction writers 21st-century New Zealand women writers People from Putāruru People from Tauranga 21st-century New Zealand novelists 21st-century New Zealand short story writers New Zealand women novelists New Zealand women short story writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers Bram Stoker Award for Novel winners Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit