Anthologies
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Best Australian Essays: A Ten-Year Collection | 2011 | Buy |
| The BBC International Short Story Award 2012 | 2012 | Buy |
| The Best British Short Stories 2013 | 2012 | Buy |
Standalone Novels
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| How the Light Gets In | 2003 | Buy |
| Carry Me Down | 2006 | Buy |
| This Is How | 2010 | Buy |
| Even Pretty Eyes | 2022 | Buy |
M.J. Hyland writes literary fiction characterized by precise, pared-back prose and psychologically complex protagonists. Her second novel, Carry Me Down (2006), follows a boy in rural Ireland whose conviction that he can detect lies leads to increasingly disturbing consequences. The book was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and cemented Hyland’s reputation as a writer of uncommon intensity.
Her debut, How the Light Gets In (2003), and her third novel, This Is How (2010), explore similar territory — characters whose grip on their own lives becomes tenuous as circumstances close in around them. Even Pretty Eyes (2022) arrived after a twelve-year gap. Hyland has also appeared in three anthologies, including The Best Australian Essays and The BBC International Short Story Award.