“I arrived at Rita’s house about noon.”
An Aiden Glencar story, a companion to Give Them Unquiet Dreams.
Read the storyFiction, poetry, and essays about people, places, memory, and faith.
Three First Books
Over 300 PublicationsIn Print Worldwide
James Mulhern has been published over 300 times in literary magazines, journals, and anthologies in the United States and around the world.
Kirkus ReviewsBest Books of 2019
His novel Give Them Unquiet Dreams received a Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews and was named one of the Best Books of 2019.
University of OxfordExeter College
In 2015 he held a Creative Writing Fellowship at Oxford, where his work earned a grade of First Class.

A story, a poem, and an essay, each readable here in a few minutes.
“I arrived at Rita’s house about noon.”
An Aiden Glencar story, a companion to Give Them Unquiet Dreams.
Read the story“She asks me to put bacitracin on her heel.”
First published in Sparks of Calliope.
Read the poemOn multitudes, communion, and the ordinary miracles of the classroom.
A personal essay of about ten minutes.
Read the essayMore sample pages are on Writing. Essays and critical readings on the books are gathered in Author’s Notes.

I’m glad you’re here. I’m James Mulhern, a Philadelphia-based writer of fiction, poetry, and essays. I grew up in Irish Catholic Boston and spent three decades in the classroom before retiring as a professor of English. These days, I write and publish full time through Silver Current Press, with teaching continuing through The 2601 Salon.
This site brings those strands of my writing life together: books and sample pages, reflections on literature and the craft of writing, and paths into the teaching and publishing projects that have grown alongside my work.
For me, literature begins with attention—to a voice, a remembered moment, something familiar suddenly seen differently. I hope you’ll find something here that invites you to pause, become curious, and keep reading.
Whether you’ve come looking for a particular book or simply followed an unexpected connection, welcome.
James Mulhern

Novel · 2019 · Kirkus Starred Review
Set in 1970s Irish Catholic Boston, Give Them Unquiet Dreams is the story of Aiden, a fourteen-year-old with second sight, and of a mother whose visions have been called madness. The family’s grief goes back to a well in rural Ireland.
“A luminous, beautifully told fairy tale grounded in history and elevated by spirit.”

Poetry · Silver Current Press
Twenty poems of family, water, and threshold. Crossings: Selected Poems is available now in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook.

Stories
The story collection. “Assumptions,” which opens it, is the story the essays on this site return to most.
“Another of the author’s strengths is in eliciting compassion for less-than-likable figures.”
More fiction: Molly Bonamici and A Prayer for Home. Every title, with retailer links, is on Books.
“I have been one acquainted with the night.”
—Robert Frost
Mulhern writes mostly in the solitude of night, in the liminal hours when the border between waking and dreaming softens—the permeable membranes of his essay “Thin Places.”
From the Reviewers
A selection of critical reception from Kirkus Reviews, Readers’ Favorite, the Missouri Review, the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, and readers.
“A luminous, beautifully told fairy tale grounded in history and elevated by spirit.”
“Mulhern’s writing displays all of the storytelling prowess of the contemporary Irish masters, yet manages to blend it in exquisitely with the use of modern day American settings.”
“A gripping, superbly written story with a strong-willed, unpredictable protagonist. Highly recommended!”
“Impressed the editorial staff with its well-written, complex characters, themes of the piece, and its fantastic voice.”
“Give Them Unquiet Dreams is brilliant; it’s most highly recommended.”
“Excellent. Very visual. Mulhern at his best.”
“The quieter scenes show the mind of a talented writer at work… Mulhern demonstrates considerable powers of description, particularly when portraying his saddest characters.”
“A gleefully and wonderfully odd protagonist eases readers into a bare-bones plot.”
“Mulhern’s … prose is strong, delivering readers a sense of the child in Aiden’s voice and a thorough, descriptive view of the world around him.”
“…ultimately, it’s the rich characters who bring the novel to its greatest heights…”
“…a liberal use of quotes and sayings ranging from Bible verses to Thoreau and Yeats, grounding the various players’ cultural context.”
“Another of the author’s strengths is in eliciting compassion for less-than-likable figures.”
“A gripping, character-led story full of tiny twists and turns that will keep you turning the page… the author knows his characters well—they literally jump off the page.”
“…Molly Bonamici is thoughtful. And thought-provoking. It’s a bit of a gem!”
“…a well-structured vehicle to show off the author’s superb writing skills. And, when I say superb, I’m not kidding.”
“The character work is excellent, the central characters spring off the page. Plenty of twists in the plot, and an excellent ending.”
“After reading the blurb, I knew this book would be special, but had no idea just what a marvelous read it would actually be.”
“It is not often that I am thoroughly enthralled with a book, but Assumptions and Other Stories was a compelling read.”
“James Mulhern did an excellent job of creating strong, colorful characters that lit up the page.”
“The writing is consistently compelling, and sometimes serves as observations on the human condition.”
“A powerful, emotionally rich novel that weaves together Irish folklore, family trauma, faith, and the supernatural with remarkable grace. Mulhern captures the heart of a Boston Irish Catholic family with authenticity and reverence.”
“I almost missed my subway stops because I was so engrossed in the story. I fell in love with the characters and grieved when the book ended, wanting it to go on and on.”
“What an amazing book—I didn’t want it to end. The characters are quirky and unforgettable while the adventures are both zany and thought-provoking. Mulhern’s good-humored treatment of Irish and Italian cultures disarms and charms while surprising the reader.”
“Mulhern’s book gets to the heart of storytelling and those moments that render us speechless. The poignancy of the brothers’ relationship and the themes of loss, grief and wonder are telltale signs of a born writer.”
More reviews appear on each book’s page and on Reviews & Recognition.
Guides for student writers and readers, free to download, with no sign-up.
Open Free GuidesThere is a reading-group guide for every Silver Current Press title, each with discussion questions grouped by voice, theme, and craft.
See the companionsCourse handouts, unit plans, and close readings for the classroom, with selected editions in the Store.
See the teaching resourcesCourses in literature and the craft of writing for libraries, bookstores, universities, and community venues.
See the coursesFour convictions, quoted from James Mulhern’s Credo.
Attention
“I watch the shabby detail long enough to see what else it may contain.”Credo, III. The Discipline of Attention
Mercy
“I will not write anyone off, on the page or in life.”Credo, II. Mercy as Method
Communion
“Writing does not preserve the dead so much as it reopens a chair for them.”Credo, VI. Writing as Communion
Recurrence
“What is laid down is taken up, in another room, by another hand.”Credo, VII. The Fire Under the Bridge
The Credo and the essays are gathered in Author’s Notes.
“There is no wrong first book, only a gentler one.”