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Billie Livingston

ビリー・リビングストン

Birī Ribingusuton

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
Hamilton, Ontario
Nationality
Canada
Languages
English
Residence History
Hamilton, Ontario → Toronto, Ontario → Vancouver, British Columbia

Career

Occupations
novelist, short story writer, essayist, poet
Active Years
1999-2025
Nominations
2001 Pat Lowther Award shortlist (The Chick at the Back of the Church), 2010 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award longlist (Greedy Little Eyes), 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist (One Good Hustle), 2025 Crime Writers of Canada Awards nomination (Houdini Act)

Awards

Danuta Gleed Literary Award
2011
Work: Greedy Little Eyes
Organization: Ontario Arts Council
Result: Winner
CBC Bookie Award
2011
Work: Greedy Little Eyes
Organization: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Result: Winner
Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award
2017
Organization: Writers' Trust of Canada
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Going Down Swinging

2000 Novel

Her critically acclaimed first novel.

Cease to Blush

2006 Novel

Chosen as one of the year's best books by The Globe and Mail, etc.

Greedy Little Eyes

2010 Short story collection

Winner of Danuta Gleed Literary Award.

One Good Hustle

2012 Novel

Longlisted for Giller Prize. A novel about a young woman fearing genetic doom to be a con artist.

The Trouble with Marlene

2010 Young adult fiction

Adapted into a feature film.

Adaptations
  • [Film] Sitting on the Edge of Marlene / Ana Valine (2014)

The Crooked Heart of Mercy

2016 Novel

American debut novel.

The Chick at the Back of the Church

2001 Poetry

Shortlisted for Pat Lowther Award.

Bibliography

  • The Crooked Heart of Mercy
  • One Good Hustle
  • Greedy Little Eyes
  • Cease to Blush
  • Going Down Swinging
  • The Trouble with Marlene
  • The Chick at the Back of the Church
  • The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2025
  • Crimeucopia: Crank It Up
  • Literature and the Writing Process —Cdn Edition
  • Northwest Edge: Fictions of Mass Destruction
  • Dropped Threads 2
  • Love Poems for the Media Age
  • Journey Prize Anthology
  • Hammer and Tongs
  • The Edges of Time
  • Meltwater

Adaptations

  • The Trouble with Marlene adapted into Sitting on the Edge of Marlene (2014)

Legacy

Acclaimed Canadian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet, recipient of multiple literary awards.

Trivia

  • Married to American actor and writer Tim Kelleher.
  • Received fellowships from The Banff Centre, MacDowell Colony, and others.