Ali Shaw (author)
Ali Shaw | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1982 (age 42–43) |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Lancaster University |
| Period | 2009- |
| Genre | speculative fiction |
| Website | |
| www | |
Ali Shaw (born 1982) is an author of speculative fiction from Dorset, England. His 2009 debut novel, The Girl with Glass Feet, won the Desmond Elliott Prize.
Biography
Shaw, born in 1982, grew up in Dorset. He studied English Literature at Lancaster University, and has worked in bookshops in both Oxford and London.[1]
Shaw released his debut novel, The Girl with Glass Feet, in 2009. Featuring a story based upon the premise of a girl gradually turning into glass from the feet up, it was critically well received. Catherine Taylor of The Guardian reviewed it as a "magical fable of fate and resignation".[2][3][4][5] In December 2012 Shaw's second novel, The Man Who Rained, was Paperback of the Week in The Observer.[6][7]
In 2016 Shaw published The Trees, a novel featuring an ecological apocalypse caused by giant trees. Compared positively against the Cormac McCarthy novel The Road, Kirkus Reviews called the novel "an ecological sermon, bildungsroman, mystery, fairy tale, and horror story all combined into a novel about an improbable journey".[8][9] Suzi Feay, writing in The Financial Times, stated the novel is "very odd indeed, but certainly compelling".[10]
Awards and recognition
In 2009, Shaw was nominated for the Costa Book Award for First Novel for his novel The Girl with Glass Feet.[11] His debut also won the Desmond Elliott Prize.[6]
Bibliography
- Shaw, Ali (2009). The Girl with Glass Feet. Atlantic Books. ISBN 9781843549185.
- Shaw, Ali (2012). The Man who Rained. Atlantic Books. ISBN 9780857890320.
- Shaw, Ali (2016). The Trees. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781408862254.
References
- ^ "Ali Shaw". C&W. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ Romm, Robin (10 January 2010). "Crystalline Affliction". New York Times Book Review. Gale A216209965.
- ^ Taylor, Catherine (23 May 2009). "The Girl with Glass Feet". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ "THE GIRL WITH GLASS FEET". Kirkus Reviews. 1 November 2009.
- ^ Lothar, Corinna (26 March 2010). "BOOK REVIEW: 'The Girl with Glass Feet'". Washington Times. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ a b Heal, Olivia (24 February 2012). "Ali Shaw: THE MAN WHO RAINED". Times Literary Supplement. Gale A667238950.
- ^ Docx, Edward (30 December 2012). "Review: Books: PAPERBACK OF THE WEEK: The Man Who Rained". The Observer. Gale A313365692.
- ^ Moss, Sarah (25 March 2016). "The Trees by Ali Shaw review – nature's revenge on the modern world". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ "THE TREES". Kirkus Reviews. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ Feay, Suzi (11 March 2016). "'The Trees', by Ali Shaw". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ^ "Little-known novelist vies with big names for Costa prize". The Guardian. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2025.