Mary Murray Bartolomé
Mary Murray Bartolomé (née Murray Brown) is a writer, adventurer, and teacher. She was raised in Edinburgh, graduated from Oxford University, and now lives in a small town near Barcelona with her husband and border collie. She teaches English literature and debating in an international high school.
Mary writes fiction in the novel and short story form, as well as some narrative non-fiction and memoir inspired by nature and adventuring. This blog is a random assortment of musings on life's adventures, without any particular objective other than escapism and intellectual entertainment.
In 2024 Mary won the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize. She has also published a short story, How To Make Love To Fire in Panorama Magazine, and a shorter piece, Relations, in The Phare. Her non-fiction writing has been published in Across The Margin and Prof Writing Academy.
Mary has also been shortlisted in the Bath Short Story Award, the Bridport Prize, the London Library Scholarship, the Aurora Writing Prize and the Chipping Norton Short Story Award. Recently, Mary won a place on the New Writing North Academy, completing a short story course with writer Susmita Bhattacharya.
Her debut novel was longlisted in the international Bath Novel Award and other pitch prizes. In 2020 she completed the Faber Academy Writing A Novel course, and is now at work on her second novel, whilst seeking representation for the first.
Full Publication History:
- “When The Hero Is The Problem”, an environmental essay, Across The Margin, 2025
- “How Judging Competitions Changed My Writing”, a craft essay, Prof Writing Academy, 2025
- “Campfire Meditations”, a short story, Alpine Fellowship, 2024
- “How To Make Love To Fire”, a short story, Panorama Journal, 2024
- “Relations”, a flash fiction, The Phare, 2024
- “Anniversary / Grief”, a personal essay, Ignatian Lit Mag, 2023
Sometimes she tweets here https://x.com/MaryMurrayBrown
