Ali Hazelwood is the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of an Italian

romance novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed ...

ist and neuroscience professor based in the United States. Many of her works center on women in

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

fields and academia. Her debut novel, ''

The Love Hypothesis ''The Love Hypothesis'' is a romance novel by Ali Hazelwood, published September 14, 2021 by Berkley Books. Originally published online in 2018 as ''Head Over Feet'', a ''Star Wars'' fan fiction work about the " Reylo" ship between Rey and Kyl ...

,'' was a ''New York Times'' best seller.

Career

Hazelwood's first novel, ''The Love Hypothesis,'' was published in September 2021. It was on The ''New York Times'' Best Seller list for more than 40 weeks. The story was originally written as

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

about Rey and

Kylo Ren Kylo Ren (born Ben Solo) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in ''The Force Awakens'' (2015), the first film of the sequel trilogy as the main antagonist. He subsequently appeared in '' The Last Jedi'' (20 ...

, which Hazelwood first published on

Archive of Our Own Archive of Our Own (AO3) is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, open-source software, open source repository for fanfiction and other fanworks contributed by users. The site was created in 2008 by the Organization for Transformative Works and w ...

in 2018. In 2020, Hazelwood was approached by a literary agent about the story, who then helped her prepare it for publication. In 2022, Hazelwood published her second full-length novel, ''Love on the Brain'', as well as three novellas: ''Under One Roof'', ''Stuck with You'', and ''Below Zero.'' In 2023, Hazelwood compiled her three novellas into a book titled ''Loathe to Love You''. That same year, she released her third adult novel, ''Love, Theoretically'','''' as well as her first

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

novel, ''Check & Mate''. In 2024, she released the paranormal romance, ''Bride''. Her seventh book, ''Not in Love'', was released in June 2024.

Personal life

Hazelwood was born and raised in Italy and lived in Japan and Germany before moving to the United States to pursue her Ph.D. in

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

. During her graduate study, Hazelwood researched brain stimulation and

cognitive neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the Biology, biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental ...

. Hazelwood worked as a professor up until 2023, when she took a break from academia to focus on her writing career.

Works

Novels

* ''

'' (2021) * ''Love on the Brain'' (2022) * ''Love, Theoretically'' (2023) * ''Check & Mate'' (2023) * ''Bride'' (2024) * ''Not in Love'' (2024) * ''Deep End'' (2025) * ''Problematic Summer Romance'' (2025) * ''Mate'' (2025)

Novellas

* ''Loathe to Love You'' (2023) collection: ** ''Under One Roof'' (2022) ** ''Stuck with You'' (2022) ** ''Below Zero'' (2022) * ''Cruel Winter with You'' (2024)

Audio Novella

* ''Two Can Play'' (2024)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazelwood, Ali Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Italian women writers Italian women neuroscientists Italian romantic fiction writers Women romantic fiction writers Pseudonymous women writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers