Alix Hawley (born 1975) is a Canadian novelist and short-story writer. Her novel, ''All True Not a Lie In It'' (

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

2015), won the amazon.ca First Novel Award in 2015.

Early life and work

Hawley was born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in 1975, but moved shortly afterwards to

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

, where she began writing early. She studied for her BA (Honors) in English Literature, with a minor in Nineteenth-Century Studies, at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

in Vancouver, where she won the Governor General's medal as the top graduating student in the faculty of Arts. She moved to the UK to complete a M.St. and D.Phil. under Hermione Lee's supervision at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

;ABC BookWorld , Alix Hawley
/ref> her thesis discusses

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

and nineteenth-century children's culture. She went on to complete an MA in Creative Writing (Fiction) at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

, studying with Andrew Motion, Richard Holmes, and

Paul Magrs Paul Magrs (pronounced "Mars"; born 12 November 1969) is a writer and lecturer. He was born in Jarrow, England, and now lives in Manchester with his partner, author and lecturer Jeremy Hoad. Early life Magrs was born in Jarrow, Tyne & Wear, on ...

.UBC Alumni Relations
/ref> Her favourite authors include

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro (; ; born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Munro's work has been described as revolutionizing the architecture of short stories, especially in its tendency to move f ...

Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley. She wrote 22 novel ...

Anita Brookner Anita Brookner (16 July 1928 – 10 March 2016) was an English novelist and art historian. She was Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge from 1967 to 1968 and was the first woman to hold this visiting professorship. She ...

Colm Toibin Colm is a male given name of Irish origin. Colm can be pronounced "Collum" or "Kullum". It is not an Irish version of Colin, but like Callum and Malcolm derives from a Gaelic variation on ''columba'', the Latin word for 'dove'. People * Colm B ...

, Peter Carey and

Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, '' Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was relea ...

Writing

Hawley's first book, ''The Old Familiar'' (Thistledown Press, 2008),Thistledown Press , Alix Hawley
/ref> is a collection of short stories; ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' said: "'Genius' is a word I hesitate to use in a review; Hawley's work requires it."Globe and Mail Review of The Old Familiar
/ref> The book was longlisted for the ReLit award.Re Lit Awards
/ref> Her story "Witching" won the CBC Literary Award for Short Fiction in 2017. "Jumbo" was runner-up in 2014, and "Tentcity" was runner-up in 2011.
/ref> "Little Boy" was shortlisted in 2009. In 2013, Hawley's short story "Pig (for Oma)" was the winner of the Canada Writes "Bloodlines" short memoir contest. Her story was chosen from over 800 entries. Her novel, ''All True Not a Lie In It'' (

2015),Knopf Signs Alix Hawley to New Face of Fiction
''

Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'', July 12, 2013. is a first-person account of

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

's captivity by the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

, and was signed to Knopf as part of the New Face of Fiction Program. The novel won the amazon.ca First Novel Award and the BC Book Prize for Fiction in 2015, and was longlisted for the 2015

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

.The Scotiabank Giller Prize Presents Its 2015 Longlist
/ref> The book won the

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, established in 1985 as one of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, is awarded annually to the best work of fiction by a resident of British Columbia, Canada. The award is named after novelist and short story writer Ethel W ...

in 2016.

Personal life

Hawley is affiliated with

Okanagan College Okanagan College is a public, post-secondary institution with over 120 certificates, diplomas, degrees and programs including apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship trades programs. Its largest campus is located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canad ...

in Kelowna,Okanagan College Faculty
/ref> where she lives with her family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawley, Alix Canadian women novelists Living people 1975 births Writers from Vancouver University of British Columbia alumni Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford Alumni of the University of East Anglia 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian women writers Amazon.ca First Novel Award winners