Aislinn Hunter (born 1969[1] in Belleville, Ontario) is a Canadian poetry and fiction author.

Aislinn Hunter
Born1969 (age 54–55)
NationalityCanadian
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Professor, writer
Websiteaislinnhunter.com

Early life edit

She studied art history and writing at the University of Victoria where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Her Master of Fine Arts degree came from the University of British Columbia, 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. Hunter's research interests include material culture, museums, books-as-things, Victorian writers, and ephemera.

Career edit

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 latest novel The Certainties was released in 2020 and published by Knopf Canada.

Personal life edit

She was married for 25 years but lost her husband to brain cancer in 2018. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Bibliography edit

Fiction edit

  • 2001: What's Left Us. Vancouver: Polestar. 27 December 2023. ISBN 9781551924120.
  • 2002: Stay. Vancouver: Polestar. 27 December 2023. ISBN 9781551925684.
  • 2014: The World Before Us. Toronto: Doubleday. 31 March 2015. ISBN 9780385680660.
  • 2020: The Certainties. Toronto: Knopf Canada. 27 December 2023. ISBN 9780735276871.[2]

Poetry edit

Essay collection edit

Awards and recognition edit

Year Work Award Category Result Ref
1996 Journey Prize Poetry Nominated
National Book Award Fiction Nominated
2000 National Magazine Award Nominated
2002 Into the Early Hours Gerald Lampert Award Won
Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize Finalist
What's Left Us Danuta Gleed Literary Award Shortlisted
ReLit Award Fiction Shortlisted
2003 Stay Amazon Canada First Novel Award Finalist
2004 The Possible Past Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize Shortlisted
Pat Lowther Award Shortlisted
ReLit Award Poetry Shortlisted
2015 The World Before Us Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize Won
2017 Linger, Still Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry Won [3]
2018 Pat Lowther Award Longlisted [4]

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Collection Search – Library and Archives Canada". Library and Archives Canada.
  2. ^ "The Certainties by Aislinn Hunter". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  3. ^ "2018 Fred Cogswell Award Winners and Shortlist". Royal City Literary Arts Society. 1 November 2018. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  4. ^ "PAT LOWTHER MEMORIAL AWARD 2018 LONGLIST". 49thshelf.com. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2023.