# Alix E. Harrow

Alix E. Harrow (born November 9, 1989) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. Her short fiction work "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" has been nominated for the Nebula Award, World Fantasy Award, and Locus Award, and in 2019 won a Hugo Award. Her debut novel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January (2019), was widely acclaimed by mainstream critics, lauded by general audiences during voting at Goodreads Choice Awards and Locus Awards, and nominated for multiple first novel literary awards and speculative fiction awards. She has also published under the name Alix Heintzman.

## Life and career

Alix E. Harrow was born on November 9, 1989, in the United States and grew up in Kentucky. She enrolled at Berea College at age sixteen, where she completed a bachelor's degree in history in three years. She then went on to earn a master's degree in history from the University of Vermont. Before working as a full-time writer, Harrow was an academic historian who taught as an adjunct professor of African and African American history at Eastern Kentucky University.
Her first novel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January (2019), was received with critical acclaim and nominated for multiple awards, including the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, and World Fantasy Award for best novel. A second novel, The Once and Future Witches (2020), won a British Fantasy Award for Best Fantasy Novel (the Robert Holdstock Award). A more recent novella, A Spindle Splintered (2021), was nominated for a Hugo Award for best novella.
Harrow has also written short fiction for Shimmer Magazine, Strange Horizons, Tor.com, and Apex Magazine. This has produced a Hugo Award–winning 2018 short story called "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" (published by Apex).
Harrow lives in Virginia.

## Awards

| Year | Nominee | Award | Category | Result |
| 2019 | "A Witch's Guide to Escape" | Eugie Award | — | Finalist |
| 2019 | "A Witch's Guide to Escape" | Hugo Award | Short Story | Won |
| 2019 | "A Witch's Guide to Escape" | Locus Award | Short Story | Nominated—6th |
| 2019 | "A Witch's Guide to Escape" | Nebula Award | Short Story | Shortlisted |
| 2019 | "A Witch's Guide to Escape" | World Fantasy Award | Short Fiction | Shortlisted |
| 2019 | "A Witch's Guide to Escape" | WSFA Small Press Award | — | Shortlisted |
| 2019 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Goodreads Choice Awards | Debut | Nominated—4th |
| 2019 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Goodreads Choice Awards | Fantasy | Nominated—11th |
| 2019 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Nebula Award | Novel | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Audie Award | Fantasy | Won |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Audie Award | Female Narration | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | BFA | Fantasy Novel | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | BFA | Newcomer | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Compton Crook Award | — | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Crawford Award | — | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Dragon Awards | Science Fiction Novel | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Hugo Award | Novel | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Kitschies | Golden Tentacle (Debut) | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Locus Award | First Novel | Nominated—3rd |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | Mythopoeic Awards | Adult Literature | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Ten Thousand Doors of January | World Fantasy Award | Novel | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | "Do Not Look Back, My Lion" | Hugo Award | Short Story | Shortlisted |
| 2020 | The Once and Future Witches | Goodreads Choice Awards | Fantasy | Nominated—6th |
| 2021 | The Once and Future Witches | BFA | Fantasy Novel | Won |
| 2021 | The Once and Future Witches | Dragon Awards | Fantasy Novel | Shortlisted |
| 2021 | The Once and Future Witches | Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | Nominated—5th |
| 2021 | "The Sycamore and the Sybil" | Eugie Award | — | Finalist |
| 2021 | "The Sycamore and the Sybil" | Locus Award | Short Story | Nominated—6th |
| 2022 | A Spindle Splintered | BFA | Novella | Shortlisted |
| 2022 | A Spindle Splintered | Hugo Award | Novella | Shortlisted |
| 2022 | A Spindle Splintered | Locus Award | Novella | Nominated—4th |
| 2022 | "Mr. Death" | Hugo Award | Short Story | Shortlisted |
| 2022 | "Mr. Death" | Locus Award | Short Story | Nominated—2nd |
| 2022 | "Mr. Death" | Nebula Award | Short Story | Shortlisted |
| 2023 | A Mirror Mended | Hugo Award | Novella | Shortlisted |
| 2023 | A Mirror Mended | Locus Award | Novella | Nominated |
| 2023 | A Mirror Mended | Southern Book Prize | Fiction | Shortlisted |
| 2023 | Starling House | Goodreads Choice Awards | Fantasy | Nominated—9th |
| 2024 | Starling House | Audie Awards | Fantasy | Shortlisted |
| 2024 | Starling House | Locus Award | Horror Novel | Nominated—3rd |
| 2024 | Starling House | RUSA CODES Reading List | Fantasy | Shortlisted |
| 2024 | Starling House | Southern Book Prize | Fiction | Shortlisted |
| 2024 | Starling House | Virginia Literary Awards | People's Choice (Fiction) | Shortlisted |
| 2024 | Starling House | World Fantasy Award | Novel | Shortlisted |