MJ Hyland (Maria) was born in London to Irish parents and spent her early childhood in Dublin. She now lives in Melbourne, where she practiced as a lawyer for six years before releasing her first book, How the Light Gets In, in 2003.
How the Light Gets In was published in Australia, Europe, Israel, the USA and Canada, and was shortlisted for both the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and The Age Book of the Year Award in 2004. Film rights for the novel have recently been bought by an award-winning director.
Maria is currently working on her second novel. | 
