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, 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.

Early life and education 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.

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).

Her fourth novel, The Everlasting, won the 2026 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Personal life Harrow lives in Virginia.

Awards YearNomineeAwardCategoryResultRef2019"A Witch's Guide to Escape"Eugie Award— Locus AwardShort Story Fantasy Nebula AwardNovel Female Narration BFA Fantasy Novel Crawford Award — Dragon AwardsScience Fiction Novel 2021 BFA Fantasy Novel "The Sycamore and the Sybil"Eugie Award— Locus Award Novella Southern Book Prize Fiction Starling HouseGoodreads Choice AwardsFantasy 2024 Audie Awards Fantasy Locus Award Horror Novel RUSA CODES Reading List Fantasy Southern Book Prize Fiction Virginia Literary Awards People's Choice (Fiction) World Fantasy Award Novel 2025 Goodreads Choice AwardsFantasy 2026 Locus Award Fantasy Novel Hugo Award Novel