Alissa
York
Alissa York’s novels include Mercy; Effigy, which was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize; Fauna; and The Naturalist, which won the Canadian Authors’ Association Fiction Award. Stories from her short fiction collection Any Given Power have won the Writers’ Trust McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize and the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. She was also the recipient of the 2018 Writers’ Trust Engel Findley Award. York lives in Toronto.
Award History
2018 Winner
Writers’ Trust Engel Findley AwardJury Citation
"Alissa York’s impressive oeuvre evinces an abiding fascination with flora and fauna. Her fictions immerse readers in worlds where the human and the natural are inextricable. From the bogs of Manitoba to the rivers of the Amazon rainforest, from the wilderness of Utah to the ravines of Toronto, York’s characters live lives entwined with natural wonders that are as complex, varied, dark, and beautiful as human experience itself. Her writing is polished, intelligent, and starkly original. York writes unflinchingly about violence, cruelty, and greed, and with equal authority about redemption, reverence, and love. We are very fortunate to have her wise and compelling stories and look forward to more to come." —2018 Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award Jury (Devon Code, Billie Livingston, and Tessa McWatt)
Selected Works
The Naturalist
Jury Citation
"Alissa York’s impressive oeuvre evinces an abiding fascination with flora and fauna. Her fictions immerse readers in worlds where the human and the natural are inextricable. From the bogs of Manitoba to the rivers of the Amazon rainforest, from the wilderness of Utah to the ravines of Toronto, York’s characters live lives entwined with natural wonders that are as complex, varied, dark, and beautiful as human experience itself. Her writing is polished, intelligent, and starkly original. York writes unflinchingly about violence, cruelty, and greed, and with equal authority about redemption, reverence, and love. We are very fortunate to have her wise and compelling stories and look forward to more to come." —2018 Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award Jury (Devon Code, Billie Livingston, and Tessa McWatt)
