Aryn Kyle (born January 22, 1978) is an American novelist and short story writer. She is a 2008 recipient of the

Alex Awards The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Since 2002, the Alex Awards have been administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the ...

Life

Kyle was born in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

and grew up in

Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and largest city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction's population was 65,560 at the 2020 United St ...

. She graduated from

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

in 2001 and received an MFA in fiction from the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

in 2003. Kyle’s first short story, “Foaling Season”, was published by ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'' and went on to win a 2004

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

in fiction. “Foaling Season” became the first chapter of Kyle’s debut novel, '' The God of Animals'', which was published by Scribner in March 2007 and became a national bestseller. '' The God of Animals'' is the story of Alice Winston, a young girl coming of age on her family’s rundown horse ranch. The novel is set in the fictional town of Desert Valley, which Kyle based on

. '' The God of Animals'' won an

Alex Award The Alex Awards annually recognize "ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18". Since 2002, the Alex Awards have been administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of th ...

, a Spur Award for Best Novel of the West and was named by

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

as the Number One Fiction Debut of 2007. Kyle has had short stories published in ''

'', ''

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Bost ...

'', ''

The Georgia Review ''The Georgia Review'' is a literary journal based in Athens, Georgia. Founded at University of Georgia in 1947, the journal features poetry, fiction, essays, book reviews, and visual art. The journal has won National Magazine Awards for Ficti ...

'', ''

The Alaska Quarterly Review ''The Alaska Quarterly Review'' is a biannual literary journal founded in 1980 by Ronald Spatz and James Liszka at the University of Alaska Anchorage and continued unaffiliated in 2020.July 1, 2020 University of Alaska Anchorage ended its finan ...

'', ''

StoryQuarterly ''StoryQuarterly'' is an American literary journal based at Rutgers University–Camden in Camden, New Jersey. It was founded in 1975 by Tom Bracken, F.R. Katz, Pamela Painter and Thalia Selz. Works originally published in ''StoryQuarterly'' ha ...

'', and in the anthologies Best New American Voices 2005, and '' Best American Short Stories 2007''. Her short story collection, ''Boys and Girls Like You and Me'', was released by Scribner in the spring of 2010.

Work

Novels and collections

*'' The God of Animals'' (2007) *''Boys and Girls Like You and Me'' (2010)

Short stories

*"Copper Queen" from ''The Georgia Review'' *"Nine" from ''The Atlantic Monthly'' *"Foaling Season" from ''The Atlantic Monthly'' *"Femme" from ''The Georgia Review'' *"Allegiance" from ''Ploughshares'' *"Brides" from ''Best New American Voices 2005'' *"The Company of Strangers" from ''The Alaska Quarterly Review'' *"Little Deaths" from ''StoryQuarterly'' *"Employee/Manager Relations" from ''Conversely.com''

Awards

, 2004, 2022 *

Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award The Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award was an award given annually to beginning women writers. Established in 1995 by American author Rona Jaffe, the Foundation offers grants to writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The award wa ...

, 2005 *

Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award, also known as the Pacific Northwest Book Award (PNBA), is an annual award presented by the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association to recognize "excellence in writing" from the American Pacifi ...

, 2008 *Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Award, 2008 * American Library Association Alex Award, 2008 * Spur Award for Best Novel of the West, 2008

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyle, Aryn 1978 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American women short story writers American women novelists People from Grand Junction, Colorado Colorado State University alumni University of Montana alumni Novelists from Colorado 21st-century American women writers Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award winners 21st-century American short story writers