Paula Hawkins
Hawkins at Gothenburg Book Fair in 2015
Hawkins at Gothenburg Book Fair in 2015
Born (1972-08-26) 26 August 1972 (age 51)
Salisbury, Rhodesia
Pen name
  • Amy Silver
OccupationNovelist, journalist
NationalityBritish
Alma materKeble College, Oxford
Notable works
Website
paulahawkinsbooks.com

Paula Hawkins (born 26 August 1972) is a British author best known for her top-selling psychological thriller novel The Girl on the Train (2015), which deals with themes of domestic violence, alcohol, and drug abuse.[1][2] The novel was adapted into a film starring Emily Blunt in 2016.[3] Hawkins' second thriller novel, Into the Water, was released in 2017.[4]

Life and career

Hawkins was born and raised in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), the daughter of Anthony "Tony" Hawkins and his wife Glynne.[5] Her father was an economics professor and financial journalist. Before moving to London in 1989 aged 17, Hawkins attended Arundel School, Harare, Zimbabwe then studied for her A-Levels at Collingham College, an independent college in Kensington, West London.[6] Hawkins read philosophy, politics and economics at Keble College, University of Oxford.[6][7] She worked as a journalist for The Times, reporting on business. She then worked for a number of publications on a freelance basis, and wrote a financial-advice book for women, The Money Goddess.[2]

She did not achieve a commercial breakthrough until she challenged herself to write a darker, more serious story.[6] Her best-selling novel The Girl on the Train (2015) is a complex thriller, with themes of domestic violence, alcohol, and drug abuse.[2] The novel took her six months, writing full-time, to complete, at a time when she was in a difficult financial situation and had to borrow from her father. The novel was adapted into a film in 2016.[1] In November 2016, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.[8] Paula's second thriller Into The Water was published in May 2017 and went on to become a Sunday Times and NYT bestseller. Her novel A Slow Fire Burning was published on 31 August 2021.

Around 2019, Hawkins began to write romantic comedy fiction under the name Amy Silver, writing four novels including Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista.

Bibliography


References

  1. ^ a b Saner, Emine (21 April 2015). "The Girl on the Train: how Paula Hawkins wrote 'the new Gone Girl'". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Alter, Alexandra (30 January 2015). "Welcoming the Dark Twist in Her Career". New York Times. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  3. ^ Dargis, Manohla (5 October 2016). "Review: In 'The Girl on the Train,' a Boozy Emily Blunt Never Winks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  4. ^ Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
  5. ^ Hawkins, Paula (2 May 2017). Into the Water: The addictive Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller. Transworld. ISBN 978-1-4735-4221-1.
  6. ^ a b c Runaway success: Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train. Portraits by Pal Hansen Evening Standard
  7. ^ "Twitter post". Twitter. Keble College, Oxford. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  8. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2016: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  9. ^ Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista by Amy Silver
  10. ^ All I Want for Christmas by Amy Silver
  11. ^ One Minute to Midnight by Amy Silver
  12. ^ The Reunion by Amy Silver
  13. ^ The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

External links

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