Novelist Paul Murray studied English and Philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin (1997), then took a Master's in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia (2001).

Murray is the acclaimed author of three novels. An Evening of Long Goodbyes (2003) was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Irish Book Award. The bestselling Skippy Dies (2010) was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for various other awards including the Costa Book Awards in the UK, and in the US, the National Book Critics' Circle Award. It was one of Time Magazine's Best Books of 2010. In the New York Times, Marlon James called Skippy Dies “one of the few true masterpieces of this young century.” The Mark and the Void  was winner of the Bollinger Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction and, again, selected by Time Magazine for their Best Books of 2015.

Paul also wrote the screenplay for the comedy feature Metal Heart (2018), which was directed by Hugh O’Conor. His stories have appeared in Granta, the Paris Review, the New York Times and elsewhere. His new novel, The Bee Sting, will be published in August 2023 by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.

The program will begin with a wine, beer, and hors d'oeuvres reception beginning at 4:30pm in the Burns Library Irish Room. The lecture will follow at approximately 5:30pm upstairs in the Thompson Room. All are welcome. Visitors are kindly requested to observe current Boston College Covid-19 protocols. Directions, parking, and accessibility information is available on the Burns Library website.