Profile

Alan Cumyn is the author of the beloved Owen Skye children’s novels—The Secret Life of Owen Skye, After Sylvia and Dear Sylvia—which combined have either won or been short-listed for twelve national awards in Canada and were called “literary masterpieces of their genre” by the Writers’ Trust of Canada jury that awarded him the 2016 Vicky Metcalf Award for his body of work for young readers.

He has also authored seven wide-ranging novels for adults, including Burridge Unbound, a Giller Prize finalist, and The Famished Lover, long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. His YA novel Tilt was named one of the top works for young readers in 2011 in the US by Kirkus Reviews, and in 2016 the CBC named Hot Pterodactyl Boyfriend one of the best YA novels in Canada. Alan holds an MA in Creative Writing and English Literature from the University of Windsor and a BA (Hons.) in English Literature and History from Queen’s University. He lives in Ottawa, Canada, with his wife, author and historian Suzanne Evans.

alancumyn.com

Education

MA - Creative Writing & English Literature | University of Windsor

BA - English Literature & History | Queen's University

[pronunciation: as in "comin' round the mountain"]

Selected work

An Na

Faculty, MFA in WCYA; Writing Novels for Young People Retreat

Melanie Crowder

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Martine Leavitt

Faculty, MFA in WCYA; Alumnx Mini-Residency

Anica Mrose Rissi

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Corey Ann Haydu

Faculty, MFA in WCYA

Evan Griffith

Faculty, MFA in WCYA