Annabel Lyon Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Annabel Lyon
Photo: Phillip Chin

Annabel Lyon

Annabel Lyon Biography

Annabel Lyon’s story collection, Oxygen, and book of novellas, The Best Thing for You, were published in Canada to wide acclaim. The Golden Mean, her first novel, was a Canadian bestseller and was published in six languages. It won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Award for Fiction, and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Lyon lives in British Columbia with her husband and two children.

Annabel Lyon's website

This bio was last updated on 10/16/2016. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Interview

Read an interview in which Annabel Lyon discusses the incredible influences that Aristotle and his philosophies have had, both on the world at large and on her personally.

The Golden Mean is your first novel for adults. What prompted you to move from writing primarily short stories and novellas to writing a full-length novel? What are the challenges in moving between one form of storytelling and another? Which do you prefer?

My preferred form is the short story, but the scope of the material I wanted to deal with in The Golden Mean required a novel; it was as simple as that. I always liken writing to running: you're born with the body of a sprinter or a middle distance runner or a marathoner, and that's what's most comfortable for you. It doesn't mean you can't run the other races, but they're always going to come less naturally and be more of an effort. It's the same for me with novel writing. The long short story is my comfortable length, the length I feel most confident with, and consequently the novel was a real challenge. A number of times in the writing of the book I wanted to throw in the towel and just scale it down to a short story. But there was simply too much material, and it was too complex.

The Golden Mean was nominated for the triple crown of Canadian literary awards, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General's Literary Award, and the Roger's Writers' Trust Fiction ...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Books by this Author

Books by Annabel Lyon at BookBrowse
The Sweet Girl jacket The Golden Mean jacket
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Annabel Lyon but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Thomas Cahill

    Thomas Cahill

    Thomas Cahill was the author of the bestselling Hinges of History series (a planned seven part series) including How The Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Golden Mean

    Try:
    Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea
    by Thomas Cahill

  • Robert Harris

    Robert Harris

    Robert Harris is the author of fourteen bestselling novels: the Cicero Trilogy - Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator - Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, The Ghost, The Fear Index, An Officer and a Spy, which won four prizes ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Golden Mean

    Try:
    Imperium
    by Robert Harris

We recommend 9 similar authors

View all 9 Read-Alikes

Non-members can see 2 results. Become a member
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket
    Suggested in the Stars
    by Yoko Tawada
    In Scattered All Over the Earth, Yoko Tawada's 2018 lightly dystopian novel, a ragtag group of young...
  • Book Jacket: Shred Sisters
    Shred Sisters
    by Betsy Lerner
    "No one will love you more or hurt you more than a sister" is a wry aphorism that appears late in ...
  • Book Jacket: Model Home
    Model Home
    by Rivers Solomon
    Rivers Solomon's novel Model Home opens with a chilling and mesmerizing line: "Maybe my mother is ...
  • Book Jacket: The Mighty Red
    The Mighty Red
    by Louise Erdrich
    Permit me to break the fourth wall. Like any good reviewer, I aim to analyze a book dispassionately,...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Naming Song
    by Jedediah Berry

    Miyazaki meets Guillermo del Toro.

  • Book Jacket

    In the Garden of Monsters
    by Crystal King

    A woman with no past, a man who knows her, and a monstrous garden that separates their worlds.

Book Club Giveaway!
Win Let Us Descend

Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

Jesmyn Ward imagines the life of an enslaved girl in the years before the Civil War in this instant classic.

Enter

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

J O the B

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.