Evie Woods

Evie Gaughan (born 1976 in Ireland), who now writes under the pen-name Evie Woods, is a novelist best known for The Lost Bookshop.

Evie Woods
Born	Evie Gaughan 1976 (age 48–49) Galway, Ireland
Pen name	Evie Woods
Occupation	Author
Genres	Bibliophilia, magical realism, fantasy, historical fiction, and romance
Years active	2013–present
Notable works	The Lost Bookshop
Website
harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/evie-woods

Early life

Gaughan was born in 1976 and raised in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland.^[1][2][3] She attended Dominican College, Taylor's Hill in Galway.^[2] Later she studied business at what is now the Atlantic Technological University, and went on to achieve a diploma in marketing in 1996, after a final year at the Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France on a European Union Erasmus Programme.^[1][4]

During her twenties, Gaughan lived and worked in Canada.^[1][5] However, she suffered from panic attacks and developed social anxiety. As a result, she had to quit her job, returned to Galway and took up writing.^[1][5] She revealed that she is "95 per cent sure [she] wouldn't have become a writer if that hadn't happened."^[1] A believer in the healing power of books, "bibliotherapy" as she calls it is one of the main themes and motivations behind writing The Lost Bookshop.^[1][3]

Career

Before The Lost Bookshop was taken up by One More Chapter, Gaughan's novels had been self-published.^[6] Describing the mainstream success of The Lost Bookshop as "dreamlike",^[6] and acknowledging that word of mouth has played a huge role in this,^[1] she has now signed a four-book agreement with One More Chapter for the three books originally self-published and one new book.^[6] Her next book, The Story Collector was released in Ireland and the UK in July 2024 and was released in the US in August 2024.^[6] The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris was released in March 2025.

Gaughan lists Claire Fuller, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Daphne du Maurier, Gail Honeyman, Elizabeth McKenzie, and Sally Rooney as her favourite authors.^[2]

Bibliography

• The Heirloom (2013)
• The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris (2014, 2025)
• The Story Collector (2018, 2024)
• The Lost Bookshop (2023)
• The Violin Maker's Secret (2026)

Further reading and interviews

• Gaughan, Evie (13 February 2014). "Evie Gaughan: Stay True to Yourself". writing.ie. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
• Gaughan, Evie (2 February 2016). "Will Female Writers Always Be Second Best? by Evie Gaughan". writing.ie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
• Gaughan, Evie (28 August 2017). "What's your story about? Let me explain why I can't". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
• Gaughan, Evie (23 July 2018). "How To Get Published: The Story Collector by Evie Gaughan". writing.ie. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
• Woodbury, Mary (30 October 2019). "Wild Authors: Evie Gaughan". Artists and Climate Change. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
• Woods, Evie (7 July 2023). "Books about bookshops? That's escapism to the power of infinity!". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
• Woods, Evie (7 October 2023). "Evie Woods interview 2023 10 07 Final 2023 10 17" (Video). Interviewed by Caroline Rowan (Executive librarian). Galway, Ireland: Galway Public Libraries. Retrieved 24 June 2024 – via YouTube.
• Woods, Evie (17 July 2024). "Page Turners: 'The Story Collector' author Evie Woods". Image (Interview). Interviewed by Sarah Gill. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
• Leonard, Sue (14 September 2024). "Beginner's pluck: Evie Woods self-published her first book in 2013". Irish Examiner. Blackpool, Cork. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.