Margot McGovern is a YA and Horror author based in Adelaide, South Australia.

Her debut YA novel, Neverland, was shortlisted for the Text Prize and the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature. And her second novel, This Stays Between Us, has been shortlisted for the inaugural John Marsden Prize for Writing for Young Adults in the 2026 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, for Best Horror Novel and Best YA Novel in the 2026 Aurealis Awards and for Best Young Adult Novel in the 2026 Thriller Awards.

Her horror fiction appears in the Aurealis Award-shortlisted anthology, Hometown Haunts: #LoveOzYA Horror Tales (Wakefield Press, 2021) and issues of The Dark.

She holds a creative writing Ph.D. from Flinders University and is a former member of the LoveOzYA committee. Margot is also a workshop presenter, writing mentor and occasional book reviewer. She is represented by Danielle Binks and you can find her on Instagram: @margot.mcgovern.

Margot can be booked for school workshops and events via Becky’s Literary Bookings.