Emily Bain Murphy is the USA TODAY bestselling author of the adult historical mysteries The Ivory City and Enchanted Hill (Union Square and Co./Hachette).

She is also the author of the YA fantasies The Disappearances, which was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and Splinters of Scarlet, which received multiple starred reviews and was nominated for the MASL Truman Readers’ Award. Both are available now from HarperCollins.

Murphy was born in Indiana and raised in Hong Kong and Japan. She graduated from Tufts University and has also called Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California home. Her debut middle grade fantasy trilogy Lightseekers will be published in March 2026 from WaterBrook/Penguin Randomhouse.

Murphy is represented by Peter Knapp at Park, Fine & Brower Literary and Media. She currently lives in the St. Louis area with her husband, three children, and a rescue bunny. Find her online at Instagram @emilybainmurphy and Facebook @emilybainmurphy.

Photo credit: Shift+Click Studio

Emily’s Books

  • The Ivory City

    Adult Historical Mystery

    The St. Louis World's Fair, 1904: A miniature city of palaces and pavilions that becomes a backdrop for romance, betrayal—and murder.

    “Provides a vibrant, exciting backdrop for an engaging puzzle…. Murphy’s intense research helps to immerse readers in the lush setting.”- Library Journal, starred review

    Available now from Union Square/Hachette

    Purchase

  • Lightseekers

    Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure

    An orphan joins a ragtag group of travelers in search for a lake of light that could stop their world from being overrun by shadows, help answer questions about his and his sister’s past, and set the course for the future by making them richer than their wildest dreams.

    “Reading A Kingdom of Shadows is like hearing a ‘secret song in the dark,’ a melody that pulls you into a world of magic and light. With world-building at its finest, Emily Bain Murphy constructs an incredible adventure that is more than a mere quest—with characters so richly drawn, readers will feel deeply invested from page one.”—John Hendrix, New York Timesbestselling illustrator and author of The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien

    Coming March 2026 from WaterBrook/PenguinRandomhouse

    Pre-Order

  • Enchanted Hill

    ADULT HISTORICAL FICTION

    Escape to Enchanted Hill in this historical mystery where two people with a dark, shared past collide while working undercover at a glittering mansion on the California coast.

    “A breathtaking ride of redemption and revenge.” - NYT Bestselling Author Rhys Bowen

    Purchase

  • Splinters of Scarlet

    YA HISTORICAL FANTASY

    Downton Abbey meets Frozen in this 19th-century magical mystery set in Denmark.

    “Extraordinary.” - School Library Journal, starred review

    “I loved this spellbinding book!” - Rebecca Ross, #1 NYT Bestselling Author of Divine Rivals

    Purchase

  • The Disappearances

    YA HISTORICAL FANTASY

    Every seven years in the town of Sterling, something that makes life beautiful disappears, and 15-year-old Aila Quinn has to decipher the clues her mother left in an old Shakespeare book to figure out why.

    “I adored this book!” - Stephanie Garber, #1 NYT Bestselling Author of Once Upon a Broken Heart and the Caraval series

    Purchase

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