Heather O'Neill (born 1973) is a Canadian novelist, poet, short story writer, screenwriter and journalist, who published her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, '' Lullabies for Little Criminals'', in 2006. The novel was subsequently selected for the 2007 edition of ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Fre ...

'', where it was championed by singer-songwriter John K. Samson. ''Lullabies'' won the competition. The book also won the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and was shortlisted for eight other major awards, including the Orange Prize for Fiction and the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

and was longlisted for

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

. ''Lullabies for Little Criminals'' was a publishing sensation in Canada and went on to become an international bestseller. O'Neill was named by ''

Chatelaine Chatelaine may refer to: *Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc. * Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse * ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...

'' as one of the most influential women in Canada.

Biography

O'Neill was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec. Her father is from Montreal and her mother is American. O'Neill spent the first part of her childhood in Montreal. After her parents' divorce, she lived in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

with her mother for several years before returning to Montreal to live with her father. She has lived in Montreal ever since. She was educated at

Dawson College Dawson College is an English-language public college in Westmount and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The college is situated near the heart of Downtown Montreal in a former nunnery on approximately of green space. It is the largest CEGEP in the p ...

and

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

. She has one daughter, Arizona, whom she raised as a single parent.

Work

She wrote the screenplay for the 2000 film ''

Saint Jude Jude the Apostle (Ancient Greek: Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou Syriac/Aramaic: ܝܗܘܕܐ translit. Yahwada) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Tha ...

'', based in part on her own early short story "Big Al". Directed by

John L'Ecuyer John L'Ecuyer (born November 15, 1964) is a Canadian film and television director. Biography Born in Montreal, L'Ecuyer later moved and studied at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, where his classmates included screenwriter Brad Abraha ...

and starring

Liane Balaban Liane Balaban (born June 24, 1980) is a Canadian actress. Her film debut was in '' New Waterford Girl'' (1999) as Agnes-Marie "Mooney" Pottie. She has since appeared in the films '' Definitely, Maybe'' (2008), ''Last Chance Harvey'' (2008), and ...

and

Nicholas Campbell Nicholas Campbell (born 24 March 1952) is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He is a four-time Gemini Awards, Gemini Award winner, a three-time Genie Awards, Genie Award nominee, and a Canadian Screen Awards, Canadian Screen Award nominee. He is k ...

, it debuted at the

2000 Toronto International Film Festival The 2000 Toronto International Film Festival, the 25th annual festival, ran from September 7 to September 16, 2000. Along with special events to commemorate the anniversary, there were a total of 330 films screened. There was a special screening of ...

. O'Neill published her debut novel ''Lullabies for Little Criminals'' in 2006 and it immediately became a bestseller. She published her second novel ''The Girl Who Was Saturday Night'' in 2014. It was shortlisted for the 2014

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) 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 c ...

. It was also nominated for the

Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

and the

Encore Award The £15,000 Encore Award for the best second novel was first awarded in 1990. It is sponsored by Lucy Astor, presented by the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King Ge ...

. Her short story collection, ''Daydreams of Angels,'' was published in 2015 and was shortlisted for the

. It won the 2016

Danuta Gleed Literary 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 ...

from

The Writers' Union of Canada The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is the national organization of professionally published writers. TWUC was founded in 1973 to work with governments, publishers, booksellers, and readers to improve the conditions of Canadian writers. TWUC adv ...

. Her third novel ''The Lonely Hearts Hotel,'' was published in 2017 and won the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. She has made contributions to ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

'',

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

, '' Rookie Magazine'', ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'', ''

'', the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'', ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', and ''

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, nonprofit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an eight-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a nation ...

''. O'Neill was on the jury for the 2018

. O'Neill's 2017 CLC Kreisel Lecture was published in 2018 by

University of Alberta Press University of Alberta Press (UAlberta Press) is a publishing house and a division of the University of Alberta that engages in academic publishing. Overview The offices of University of Alberta Press (UAlberta Press) are located in the Rutherfo ...

as ''Wisdom in Nonsense: Invaluable Lessons From My Father''. In 2019 O'Neill was awarded the Writers' Trust Fellowship for her body of work. She appeared as a panelist in the 2024 edition of ''

'', winning the competition while championing Susan Ouriou's English translation of

Catherine Leroux Catherine Leroux (born 1979) is a French Canadian novelist. Early life Leroux was born in Rosemère, Quebec in 1979. She graduated university with a degree in philosophy. Career Before becoming a novelist, Leroux worked as the Toronto correspon ...

's novel ''

The Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently e ...

''. With ''Lullabies for Little Criminals'' having won the competition in 2007, her participation in the debates made her one of very few people who have ever been featured in the series both as an author and as an advocate.

Awards

*Winner of ''

'' 2007 *Winner of the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction 2007 *Shortlisted for the

2007 *Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2008 *Shortlisted for the Amazon.ca/ Books in Canada First Novel Award 2007 *Shortlisted for the Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Award 2007 *Shortlisted for the Grand Prix du Livre de Montreal 2007 *Shortlisted for the

Exclusive Books Boeke Prize The Exclusive Books Boeke Prize is a book prize which was awarded in South Africa from 1995 to 2012. Award The award was loosely modelled on the United Kingdom's Booker Prize, and sponsored by Exclusive Books. Although ''boeke'' is an Afrikaans ...

South Africa 2008 *Longlisted for the

2008 *Winner, GOLD, National Magazine Awards, Best Feature Short (ELLE CANADA), 2010 *Winner, GOLD, National Magazine Awards, Best Feature Short (CHATELAINE), 2011 *Shortlisted for the

2014 *Longlisted

2015 *Longlisted

Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award __NOTOC__ The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented betwe ...

2015 *Shortlisted for the

2015 *Shortlisted the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction 2015 *Longlisted for the

2015 *Winner

2016 *Shortlisted for the

Sunburst Award The Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is an annual literary award given for a speculative fiction novel or a book-length collection, first awarded in 2001. A young adult category was created in 2008, to differentiate from ad ...

2016 *Longlisted

2017 *Winner of the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction 2017 *Winner of the Writers' Trust Fellowship 2019

Books

* ''two eyes are you sleeping'', 1999 (poetry) * '' Lullabies for Little Criminals'', 2006 (novel) * ''The Girl Who Was Saturday Night'', 2014 (novel) * ''Daydreams of Angels'', 2015 (short stories) * ''The Lonely Hearts Hotel'', 2017 (novel) * ''Wisdom in Nonsense: Invaluable Lessons from My Father'', 2018 (nonfiction) * '' When We Lost Our Heads'', 2022 (novel) * ''The Capital of Dreams'', 2024 (novel)

Other work

O'Neill has written a book of poetry entitled ''two eyes are you sleeping''. Her 2008 short story "The End of Pinky" was adapted as a 2013 animated short of the same name, with O'Neill providing English narration. In December 2013, it was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's annual top ten list, in the short film category.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Heather 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets Canadian women poets Canadian women screenwriters Canadian women novelists Living people Poets from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people Montreal Gazette people Canadian people of American descent Canadian women short story writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 1973 births 21st-century Canadian short story writers McGill University alumni 21st-century Canadian screenwriters Screenwriters from Quebec Novelists from Montreal