Annabel Lyon (born 1971) is a Canadian novelist and short-story writer. She has published two collections of short fiction, two young adult novels, and two adult historical novels, The Golden Mean and its sequel, The Sweet Girl.
Life and work Born in Brampton, Ontario, Lyon grew up in Coquitlam, British Columbia, where she and her family moved when she was a year old. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at Simon Fraser University and an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. In addition, she attended the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Law for one year.
Lyon published her first book, Oxygen, a collection of stories, in 2000. The Best Thing for You, a collection of three novellas, followed in 2004 and was nominated for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.
Her first novel, The Golden Mean, which imagines the relationship between Alexander the Great and his teacher, Aristotle, was published in 2009. It held the distinction of being the only book nominated that year for all three of Canada's major fiction prizes: the Scotiabank Giller Prize,Farquharson, Vanessa. "Familiar names missing from Giller Prize list". Regina Leader-Post, October 7, 2009. the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction,Adrian Chamberlain, "Bookstore clerk's first offering vies with Alice Munro for top prize". Victoria Times-Colonist, October 15, 2009. and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Of the three, she won the Rogers Prize. The book has been translated into six languages. A sequel, The Sweet Girl, which explores the life of Aristotle's daughter, Pythias, was published in September 2012.
Her novel Consent was longlisted for the Giller Prize in 2020.
In 2021, former UBC professor Steven Galloway lodged defamation lawsuits against Lyon and over 20 others on the grounds that they had helped perpetuate false allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against him in 2015. After an extensive pre-trial process she reached a confidential settlement with Galloway in 2026, a few months before the trial was due to proceed.
She lives in New Westminster, British Columbia, one of 13 cities in Metro Vancouver.
Awards and honors +Awards for Lyon's writingYearTitleAwardResultRef.2005Ethel Wilson Fiction PrizeShortlist2009The Golden MeanGiller PrizeShortlist2009The Golden MeanGovernor General's Award for English-language fictionFinalist2009The Golden MeanRogers Writers' Trust Fiction PrizeWinner2010Ethel Wilson Fiction PrizeShortlist2012The Sweet GirlGiller PrizeLonglist"Lyon, Richardson among authors on Giller long list". Prince George Citizen, September 5, 2012.2020ConsentGiller PrizeLonglist2021ConsentEthel Wilson Fiction PrizeShortlist
Bibliography
Short fiction Oxygen (2000) McClelland & Stewart The Best Thing for You (2004) McClelland & Stewart Saturday Night Function (2004) Biblioasis Imagining ancient women. 2012. Henry Kreisel Memorial Lecture Series, University of Alberta Press
Novels All-Season Edie (2009) Orca Book Publishers The Golden Mean (2009) Random House Canada Encore Edie (2010) Puffin Canada The Sweet Girl (2012) Random House Canada Consent (2020)
References