Paula Morris

Fiction writer

Paula Morris, a novelist and short story writer of English and Maori descent, was born in New Zealand. For almost a decade she worked in the record business in London and New York. In 2010, after six years in New Orleans, where she taught creative writing at Tulane University, she moved to Glasgow, Scotland. She currently teaches at the University of Stirling.

Paula's first novel, Queen of Beauty, won best first work of fiction at the 2003 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Hibiscus Coast, a literary thriller set in Auckland and Shanghai, was published in 2005 and has been optioned for film. Her third novel, Trendy But Casual, a comedy set in New York, was published by Penguin New Zealand in 2005.

Her most recent novel for Penguin is Rangatira (2011), based on the true story of a trip by Maori rangatira to England in 1863.

Paula's first short story collection, Forbidden Cities (2008) was a regional finalist in the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. She is also the editor of The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Short Stories (2009).

Ruined, her first YA novel, was published by Scholastic US (2009). A mystery with a supernatural twist, set in post-Katrina New Orleans, Ruined has also been optioned for film. Her second YA novel, Dark Souls, is another supernatural mystery, this time set in York, England. Paula is represented in the US by Richard Abate at 3 Arts: 49 West 27th Street, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10001.

Paula is the director of the Scudder Road Circus and Literary Journal. Currently, Scudder Road is neither selling tickets nor accepting submissions.

For more information on Paula's books, and news of upcoming events, please visit www.paula-morris.com