Tanya Farrelly is the author of five books: three short fiction collections and two novels. Her debut When Black Dogs Sing (Arlen House) was longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and named winner of the Kate O'Brien Award 2017. Her novels The Girl Behind the Lens and When Your Eyes Close are published by Harper Collins, London, and were both Amazon bestsellers. Her latest book, a short fiction collection, The Marionette and the Maestro was published in November 2025 by Arlen House.

She holds a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing from Bangor University, Wales, and teaches at numerous institutions, including the Irish Writers Centre, Dublin, and the People's College. She is the founder and director of Bray Literary Festival and was appointed Arts Council Writer-in-Residence at NUI Galway in 2021. She is the recipient of an Arts Council Agility Award and is currently working on a new novel.