Mary Spiers
Hello
I write middle grade fiction and family-friendly screenplays that explore history, science, and a little bit of magic. My goal? To write stories kids can get lost in
My Story: From Brain Science to Storytelling
I’ve loved stories for as long as I can remember. When I was six, I drew a picture of myself as a writer — sitting at a desk, creating a page full of nicely printed letters. I didn’t know exactly what kind of stories I’d tell, but I knew I wanted to imagine people’s lives and the worlds they lived in.
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That curiosity led me into psychology. I’ve always been fascinated by people — how they think, what they feel, how they solve problems. I also love figuring out how things work, especially the amazing human brain. So, I became a clinical neuropsychologist and a professor, working with people with neurological differences, teaching students, and writing textbooks and research papers. I even created Neuropsyfi.com to explore how brain science shows up in movies.
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But underneath it all, I think I’ve always been a bit of a detective — a science and history detective. I love discovering hidden stories and imagining what life was like for people who lived in very different times.
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That spark lit up when I found out I had a distant ancestor — a Quaker woman who ran her own pastry shop during the Revolutionary War. I had to know more. That led to a screenplay, which won the “Set in Philadelphia” award, and then to writing middle grade fiction that explores history, brain science, and imagination.
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Now I write stories for curious kids who love asking questions, diving into big ideas, and getting lost in an unforgettable adventure.
Speaker Bio
Mary Spiers is a writer, screenwriter, and clinical neuropsychologist whose work bridges science, storytelling, and education.
With a passion for engaging narratives, she writes middle grade fiction and family-friendly screenplays that explore history, science, mystery, and imagination.
Her screenplay Saving Independence—inspired by a Revolutionary War-era Quaker ancestor—won the Greater Philadelphia Film Office’s Set in Philadelphia screenwriting award. She has since adapted that story into a middle grades novel and continues to develop projects that spotlight untold histories. Her most recent screenplay, Dig Deep, co-written with her screenwriting partner Tatiana St. Phard, was named one of the Top 5 screenplays in the 2024 Set in Philadelphia contest.
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Mary’s professional background includes work as a clinical neuropsychologist, professor, and co-author or editor of three college- and professional-level books, in Clinical Neuropsychology and Women’s Health Psychology. She has written and presented over 100 papers in neuropsychology and health psychology and enjoys both solo and collaborative writing.
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She is the creator of Neuropsyfi.com, a website that brings students into critical discussions about how neurological differences and disorders are portrayed in film.
She has served as a “brain science” consultant for filmmakers through the National Science Foundation’s Science and Entertainment Exchange.
Mary is a member of SCBWI and has studied screenwriting and children's literature through workshops, critique groups, and mentorship programs, including a six-month SCBWI mentorship with children’s author Linda Oatman High and a six-month screenwriting mentorship with filmmaker David Greenberg.
She is especially drawn to stories that inspire curiosity and empathy in young readers and viewers.