AprilJo Murphy is a writer, editor, and sometimes teacher. She has over a decade of experience in the publishing industry and a keen understanding of the writing process. She earned her PhD in Creative Writing at the University of North Texas, where she led fiction, nonfiction, and poetry workshops.

In 2018, AprilJo was a honored as a Publisher's Weekly Star Watch Honoree.

She is the author of Beyond Normal: How to Make Your Writing Devilishly Good (SUNY Fredonia Press, 2008) and a contributor to Heroines of Comic Books and Literature (Rowan & Littlefield, 2014). Her work has been published in Autostraddle, Women’s Studies Quarterly, Sinister Wisdom, and Hippocampus among other journals. 

Since 2019, April has worked as the Director of Publishing for Keller Williams Realty International, Inc. where she manages a catalogue of best-selling, industry-leading books like The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (McGraw Hill, 2004) and The ONE Thing (Bard Press, 2011). She also heads the writing and research team that partners with authors to develop new titles like Your First Home (KellerINK, 2022) and Rookie Real Estate Agent (KellerINK, 2025).

AprilJo usually goes by “April” and lives in Austin, TX with her wife, daughter, and two rambunctious cats. She writes and publishes under the name “AprilJo” because that’s what her Dad calls her. And there’s another April Murphy who paints quite well.