Paul Murray (born 1975) is an Irish novelist, the author of the novels ''

An Evening of Long Goodbyes ''An Evening of Long Goodbyes'' is a 2003 in literature, 2003 comic novel by Irish people, Irish author Paul Murray (author), Paul Murray. It was shortlisted for the 2003 Whitbread Awards#First Novel, 2003 Whitbread First Novel Award and for the ...

'', ''

Skippy Dies ''Skippy Dies'' is a 2010 tragicomic novel by Paul Murray. It was shortlisted for the 2010 Costa Book Awards, longlisted for the 2010 Booker Prize, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Plot ''Skippy Dies'' follows the ...

'' and '' The Mark and the Void''.

Biography

Murray was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

in 1975, the son of a professor of Anglo-Irish Drama at University College Dublin and a teacher. Murray attended

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 18 ...

in south Dublin, an experience that would later provide the basis for the school in ''Skippy Dies''. He studied English

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, and subsequently completed his master's in creative writing at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. He also spent time in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

as an English teacher, a time he did not enjoy, describing it as "a brief and unhappy stint teaching English to a Catalan businessman, who pointed out many faults in my grammar I had not known about hitherto". He describes ''

Gravity's Rainbow ''Gravity's Rainbow'' is a 1973 novel by American writer Thomas Pynchon. The narrative is set primarily in Europe at the end of World War II and centers on the design, production and dispatch of V-2 rockets by the German military. In particular, ...

'' as a very influential book to him.

Novels

Murray has written three novels: his first, ''

'', was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Prize in 2003 and nominated for the

Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award The Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award is an annual award for Irish authors of fiction, established in 1995. It was previously known as the Kerry Ingredients Book of the Year Award (1995–2000), the Kerry Ingredients Irish Fiction Award ...

. His second novel ''

'' was longlisted for the 2010 Booker Prize and shortlisted for the 2010 Costa Prize, the

Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize is the United Kingdom's first literary award for comic literature. Established in 2000 and named in honour of P. G. Wodehouse, past winners include Paul Torday in 2007 with ''Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'' an ...

for Comic Fiction and the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' magazine's top ten works of fiction from 2010. His latest novel, ''The Mark and the Void'', was one of ''Times top ten best fiction books for 2015, and joint winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize in 2016.

Metal Heart

Murray wrote the screenplay for 2018 Irish film ''

Metal Heart ''Metal Heart'' is the sixth studio album by German heavy metal band Accept, released in 1985. Although the group had recorded before at Dierks-Studios, this was the first album produced by Dieter Dierks himself. It marked the return of guita ...

'', which was directed by

Hugh O'Conor Hugh O'Conor (born 19 April 1975) is an Irish actor, writer, director, and photographer. In 2020, he was listed as number 49 on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Career His first film appearance was opposite Liam Neeso ...

List of works

* ''

'' (2003) * ''

'' (2010) * '' The Mark and the Void'' (2015) * '' The Bee Sting'' (2023)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Paul 1975 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of the University of East Anglia People educated at Blackrock College Writers from Dublin (city) 21st-century Irish novelists Irish male novelists 21st-century Irish male writers