Mary Driver-Thiel writes novels, short stories, and flash fiction with characters who may or may not solve the problems she throws at them. She finds story-telling a delightful escape to invented times and places where she can consider someone else’s fictional troubles and possibly gain new understanding of the real world. Or not. Sometimes it’s okay to just enjoy the ride.

​

Much of her work is informed by her generational ties to the North Shore of Chicago, but a lot of it comes from magic, her imagination, and the satisfaction of making up stuff. 

Driver-Thiel holds a B.A. in Fine Art and a Master of Arts in Teaching. Her short stories have been published in various online and print magazines, including Midwest Prairie Review, Chantwood Magazine, Epiphany, Danse Macabre, Boomer Lit, and Halfway Down the Stairs.

Her first novel, The World Undone, was shortlisted for Chicago Writers' Association Book of the Year in 2013 and was in the top 10 for the Illinois Author Project in 2013. Her second novel, Twelve Thousand Mornings, was released in March, 2015.

 She is a current member of Off Campus Writers Workshop and a former member of The Writers of Glencoe. In 2008, she founded Forest Writers' Group in Lake Forest, which she facilitated until 2017.
 
Driver-Thiel lives in the Chicago area with her
husband, Jerry, and their naughty but
loveable dog, Griffin.