Lee Murray (writer)

Lee Murray
ONZM
NationalityNew Zealand
Occupation(s)Author, Editor
Notable workTaine McKenna Adventures Series
AwardsBram Stoker, Sir Julius Vogel

Lee Murray (born 1965) ONZM is a New Zealand science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer and editor.[1] She is a third generation Chinese New Zealander who has written over forty works.[2] She is a five-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award and a twelve-time winner of the Sir Julius Vogel Award. She is most noted for her Taine McKenna military thrillers, and supernatural crime-noir series The Path of Ra.[3][4] In 2025 Murray was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature, particularly speculative literature.

Biography

Murray was born in Putāruru, Waikato.[1] She previously worked as a scientist and an advisor for the OECD.[1] 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.[1][5] She suffers from anxiety and depression.[6] She currently lives in Tauranga.[7]

Awards

Her anthologies Hellhole: An Anthology of Subterranean Terror and Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women won the Bram Stoker Award for "Superior Achievement in an Anthology" in 2018[8] and 2020 respectively, while her collection Grotesque: Monster Stories won the "Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection " category in 2020.[9] Other works have won the Australian Shadows and Sir Julius Vogel awards.[10] She was the winner of the 2019 Bram Stoker Mentor of the year award.[11] She is a professional member of the Horror Writers Association,[12] Australian Horror Writers Association,[13] and the New Zealand Society of Authors.[14] In 2020 she was awarded the New Zealand Society of Authors Honorary Literary Fellowship.[15] In 2021 she was awarded the Grimshaw Sargeson 2021 Fellowship.[16] She won the NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize 2023 with her manuscript Fox Spirit on a Distant Cloud.[17][18]

In the 2025 New Year Honours, Murray was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to literature, particularly speculative literature.[19]

Works as author

Award Year Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Bram Stoker Award 2018 Superior Achievement in Short Fiction "Dead End Town" Nominee [8]
Bram Stoker 2019 Superior Achievement in a Novel Into the Ashes Nominee [20]
Bram Stoker 2020 Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection Grotesque: Monster Stories (Things in the Well) Winner [9]
Bram Stoker 2021 Superior Achievement in Short Fiction Permanent Damage Winner [21]
Bram Stoker 2021 Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection Tortured Willows: Bent. Bowed. Unbroken' by Christina Sng, Angela Yuriko Smith, Lee Murray & Geneve Flynn' Winner [21]
Bram Stoker 2022 Superior Achievement in Short Non-Fiction I Don’t Read Horror (& Other Weird Tales) Winner [22]
Bram Stoker 2023 Superior Achievement in Long Fiction Despatches Nominee
Sir Julius Vogel 2012 Best Youth Novel Battle of the Birds Winner
Sir Julius Vogel 2013 Best Short Story Hope is the thing with feathers Winner
Sir Julius Vogel 2014 Best Novella Cave Fever Winner
Sir Julius Vogel 2015 Best Short Story Inside Ferndale Winner [23]
Sir Julius Vogel 2016 Best Short Story The Thief's Tale Winner
Sir Julius Vogel 2017 Best Novel: Into the Mist Into the Mist Winner
Sir Julius Vogel 2017 Services To Science Fiction, Fantasy And Horror Winner
Sir Julius Vogel 2018 Best Novel Hounds of the Underworld Winner
Sir Julius Vogel 2019 Best Novel Into the Sounds Winner

Works as editor

Award Year Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Bram Stoker 2018 Superior Achievement in an Anthology Hellhole: An Anthology of Subterranean Terror Nominee [8]
Bram Stoker 2020 Superior Achievement in an Anthology Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women Winner [9]
Sir Julius Vogel 2014 Best Collected Work Baby Teeth: Bite-sized Tales of Terror Winner
Sir Julius Vogel 2017 Best Collected Work At the Edge Winner
Australian Shadow 2018 Edited Work Hellhole: An Anthology of Subterranean Terror Winner
Aurealis 2020 Best Anthology Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women Nominee [24][25]
Australian Shadow 2020 Edited Work Midnight Echo #15 Winner [26]

Bibliography

Selected Bibliography[27]
Work Year Title
Contributor 2016 The Refuge Collection Book 1: Heaven to Some
Editor 2017 Hellhole: An Anthology of Subterranean Terror
Contributor 2018 Beneath the Waves: Tales from the Deep (4) (Things in the Well)
Editor 2020 Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women
Editor 2013 Baby Teeth: Bite-sized Tales of Terror
Contributor 2019 HWA Poetry Showcase Volume VI

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Tauranga's Lee Murray is one of NZ's best science fiction and fantasy writers". New Zealand Herald. 6 July 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Writer: Lee Murray - Writers • Auckland Writers Festival". www.writersfestival.co.nz. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Bay of Plenty horror fiction author Lee Murray wins Bram Stoker Award". New Zealand Herald. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Kiwi writer Lee Murray wins two prestigious Bram Stoker Awards® by the Horror Writers Association". Focus Magazine. 25 May 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  5. ^ "About us". Young NZ Writers. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  6. ^ Lee Murray (30 October 2019). "Horror, in real life: writers and their mental illness demons". Newsroom. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Black cranes and monster stories". SunLive. 14 August 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  8. ^ a b c "2018 Stoker Awards Winners". Locus. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "2020 Stoker Awards Winners". Locus. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  10. ^ Eleanor Wenman (26 June 2017). "'Exotic' Kiwi sci-fi makes a mark overseas". Stuff. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Mentor of the Year Award – The Bram Stoker Awards". Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Murray, Lee – The Bram Stoker Awards". Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Australasian Horror Writers Association". Australasian Horror Writers Association. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Lee Murray | New Zealand Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa". Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  15. ^ "New Zealand Society of Authors Waitangi Day Honours announced". ReadNZ. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  16. ^ "A Murder Mystery Novel And A Series Of Prose Poems For Grimshaw Sargeson's 2021 Fellowship | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Announcing the NZSA Laura Solomon Cuba Press Prize 2023 winner!". NZSA: The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc). 19 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Horror author Lee Murray is NZ's Stephen King". Now To Love. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  19. ^ "New Year Honours List 2025 - Citations for Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)". www.dpmc.govt.nz. 31 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  20. ^ "2019 Stoker Awards Winners". Locus. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  21. ^ a b "2021 Stoker Awards Winners". Locus. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  22. ^ "2022 Stoker Awards Winners". Locus. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Wellingtonians scoop up book awards". Cook Strait News. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2021 – via Issuu.com.
  24. ^ "Aurealis Awards 2020 finalists announced". 6 April 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  25. ^ Tehani (31 March 2021). "2020 Aurealis Awards Shortlist Announcement". Aurealis Awards. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  26. ^ locusmag (11 June 2021). "2020 Australian Shadows Awards Winners". Locus Online. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  27. ^ "Lee Murray". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 30 May 2021.