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 Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

2015), won the

amazon.ca First Novel Award The Amazon Canada First Novel Award, formerly the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and the Books in Canada First Novel Award, is a Canadian literary award, co-presented by Amazon.ca and ''The Walrus'' to the best first novel in English published the pre ...

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 cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

in 1975, but moved shortly afterwards to

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

, 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 University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

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 is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The colle ...

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

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

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 university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, studying with

Andrew Motion Sir Andrew Peter Motion (born 26 October 1952) is an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and a ...

, Richard Holmes, and

Paul Magrs Paul Magrs (pronounced "Mars"; born 12 November 1969) is an English 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 & W ...

.UBC Alumni Relations
/ref> Her favourite authors include

Alice Munro Alice Ann Munro ( ; ; 10 July 1931 – 13 May 2024) was a Canadian short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Her work tends to move forward and backward in time, with integrated short story cycles. Munro's ...

Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; 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 T ...

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 masculine given name of Irish origin. 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". The reason for the name's use for ov ...

, 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 releas ...

Writing

Hawley's first book, ''The Old Familiar'' (

Thistledown Press Thistledown Press is an independent literary publisher based in Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River ...

, 2008),Thistledown Press , Alix Hawley
/ref> is a collection of short stories; ''

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 ...

'' said: "'Genius' is a word I hesitate to use in a review; Hawley's work requires it." 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 (, 1734September 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 beyo ...

's captivity by the

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

, and was signed to Knopf as part of the New Face of Fiction Program. The novel won the

and the BC Book Prize for Fiction in 2015, and was longlisted for the 2015

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 ...

.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 A short ...

in 2016.

Personal life

Hawley is affiliated with

Okanagan College Okanagan College is publicpost-secondary institution with multiple campuses spread across the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. The College was established in 1963 and grown to become one of the largest colleges in British Columbia ou ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawley, Alix Canadian women novelists Living people 1975 births Novelists 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