Aislinn Hunter (born 1969 in Belleville,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

) is a Canadian

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and fiction author. She studied art history and writing at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her Master of Fine Arts degree came from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a 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 among the top thre ...

, her MSc in Writing and Cultural Politics came from the University of Edinburgh as did her PhD where she wrote on writers' houses/museums and resonant things with a focus on the Victorian era and thing theory via Heidegger. She currently teaches Creative Writing part-time at

Kwantlen Polytechnic University Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is a public degree-granting undergraduate polytechnic university in British Columbia, Canada, with campuses in Surrey, Richmond, Cloverdale, Whalley, and Langley. KPU is one of the largest institutions b ...

. Hunter's research interests include material culture, museums, books-as-things, Victorian writers and ephemera. Her 2002 novel ''Stay'' was adapted for film by Wiebke Von Carolsfeld and released as a Telefilm / Irish Film Board co-production in 2013, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival. It stars Aidan Quinn and Taylor Schilling. Her novel, ''The World Before Us'', set in a UK museum, was published by Doubleday, Canada in 2014 and by Hamish Hamilton in the UK, Hogarth Press in the US, and Marchand de Feuilles in Quebec. It won the 2015 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and was a ''New York Times'' Editor's Choice Book, an NPR 'Best Book' and a ''Chatelaine'' Book Club pick. In the spring of 2017 her third book of poetry, ''Linger, Still,'' was published by Gaspereau Press. It won the Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry and was long-listed for the Pat Lowther Poetry Prize. Dr Hunter was selected to be a Canadian War Artist and in 2018 she worked with the Canadian Armed Forces and with NATO Forces at CFB Suffield. Her novel ''The Certainties'' is due out in 2020 with Knopf Canada. She was married for 25 years but lost her husband to brain cancer in 2018. She lives 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, ...

Bibliography

* 2001: ''Into the Early Hours'' (Polestar) * 2001: ''What's Left Us'' (Raincoast) ** French translation by Carole Noël: ''Ce qu'il nous reste'' * 2002: ''Stay'' (Raincoast) * 2004: ''The Possible Past'' (Polestar) * 2009: ''A Peepshow with Views of the Interior'' (lyric essays) (Palimpsest Press, Fall, 2009) * 2014: ''The World Before Us'' (Doubleday) * 2017: ''Linger, Still'' (Gaspereau Press) * 2020: ''The Certainties''"47 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2020"

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, 5 February 2020.

Awards and recognition

* 1996: nominee,

Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by a ...

(poetry) * 1996: nominee,

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

(fiction) * 2000: nominee, National Magazine Award * 2002: winner,

Gerald Lampert Award The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is made annually by the League of Canadian Poets to the best volume of poetry published by a first-time poet. It is presented in honour of poetry promoter Gerald Lampert Gerald Lampert (c. 1924 - April 29, 1978) w ...

, ''Into the Early Hours'' * 2002: shortlisted,

Danuta Gleed Award The Danuta Gleed Literary Award is a Canadian national literary prize, awarded since 1998. It recognizes the best debut short fiction collection by a Canadian author in English language. The annual prize was founded by John Gleed in honour of his ...

, ''What's Left Us'' * 2002: finalist,

Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize The Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, established in 1986, is awarded annually to the best collection of poetry by a resident of British Columbia, Canada. One of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, the award was originally known as the B.C. Prize for Poetry. ...

, ''Into the Early Hours'' * 2003: finalist, Books in Canada/Amazon First Novel Award, ''Stay'' * 2002: shortlisted,

ReLit Award The ReLit Awards are Canadian literary prizes awarded annually to book-length works in the novel, short-story and poetry categories."Three indie writers honoured by ReLit Awards". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 19, 2007. Founded in 2000 by Newfoundla ...

, ''What's Left Us'' * 2004: shortlisted,

, ''The Possible Past'' * 2004: shortlisted, Pat Lowther Award, ''The Possible Past'' * 2004: shortlisted, ReLit Prize for Poetry, ''The Possible Past'' * 2015: winner, The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, ''The World Before Us'' * 2017: winner, Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry

External links

Aislinn Hunter official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Aislinn 1969 births Living people Canadian women novelists Canadian women poets Writers from Belleville, Ontario Writers from Vancouver University of British Columbia alumni University of Victoria alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Kwantlen Polytechnic University faculty 21st-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers