Lilly Mirren

Lilly Mirren is an Australian author best known for her contemporary and historical novels. She is a USA Today, Amazon Top 20 and Audible Top 15 bestselling author whose works have sold over a million copies worldwide.

Born and raised in Brisbane, Australia, Lilly Mirren dreamed of becoming a writer. She studied International Relations at the University of Queensland and later Information Technology at Griffith University. She worked successfully in IT for years, primarily writing business and strategy reports.

In 2015, her career took an unexpected turn when a colleague praised her writing, calling her "the best writer in a company full of professional communicators". Inspired, Mirren began exploring self-publishing through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform. She recalls, "I started listening to podcasts about self-publishing and joined online groups where I could see how others succeeded through KDP.

Despite the scepticism of others, she was determined to succeed. Mirren wrote and self-published her first short story under a pen name and quickly gained traction. She was invited to join a collaborative, multi-author series by her third novella. The series became a number-one bestseller in its category in the USA, a turning point in her writing career.

Mirren fully embraced her passion for storytelling in 2019 with her debut series, The Waratah Inn. Set in Cabarita Beach, Australia, the series tells heartwarming stories of family, resilience and love. The first book, The Waratah Inn (2019), was an instant success, followed by further instalments, including Christmas at the Waratah Inn (2019). The series has sold over 200,000 copies and cemented her reputation as an international author.

Her subsequent works include the Emerald Cove series, beginning with Cottage on Oceanview Lane (2020), and the Coral Island series, which debuted with The Island (2022). Mirren's most recent works include The Honeysuckle Cafe (2025) and the ongoing Sunshine series, which began in 2024 with The Sunshine Potluck Society.

Lilly Mirren lives with her husband and three children in Brisbane.

Photo credit: www.lillymirren.com