Paul Perry was born in Dublin in 1972. A graduate of Brown University, he has been a James Michener Fellow of Creative Writing at The University of Miami and a Cambor Fellow of Poetry at The University of Houston. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Poetry Ireland Review, TLS, Granta, The Best Irish Poetry 2007, and The Best American Poetry 2000.

A recipient of the Hennessy New Irish Writer of the Year Award for his short story The Judge, which was later collected in The New Hennessy Book of Irish Fiction, Perry's first book of poetry The Drowning of the Saints was published in 2003 to critical acclaim and was short-listed for the Rupert and Eithne Strong Award for Best First Collection at the Poetry Now Festival in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin. It was subsequently awarded The Listowel Prize for Poetry.

He is also the editor of Heartland, an anthology of contemporary writing from Co. Longford, and Goldsmith's Ghost, a collaborative novel which he devised and to which he also contributed, published by Heartland Press.

His second collection of poetry The Orchid Keeper appeared from the Dedalus Press in 2006 also to critical acclaim and was named by Poetry Ireland as one of the Books of the Year. A limited hand-printed letter-press edition of Dawn Sun also appeared in 2008 from the Four Demons Press. He was the Editor of The Best of Irish Poetry 2009. In 2010 The Last Falcon and Small Ordinance, a collection of poetry was published by The Dedalus Press.

Paul has been a Writer in Residence for Co. Longford, Rathlin Island and from 2003-2006 for the University of Ulster, where he was a Vice Chancellor Research Scholar working on a forthcoming book ‘Amy Clampitt: Nomadic Imagination.’