Paula Hawkins (author)

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]

Paula Hawkins
Hawkins at Gothenburg Book Fair in 2015
Born	(1972-08-26) 26 August 1972 (age 52) Salisbury, Rhodesia
Pen name	Amy Silver
Occupation	Novelist, journalist
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Keble College, Oxford
Notable works	The Girl on the Train
Website
paulahawkinsbooks.com

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 2009, Hawkins began to write romantic comedy fiction under the name Amy Silver, writing four novels including Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista.

Bibliography

• The Money Goddess: The Complete Financial Makeover (2006) (Paula Hawkins)
• Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education With or Without School (2001) (with co-author Grace Llewellyn) (ISBN 978-0-471-34960-0)
• Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista (2009) (Amy Silver) ISBN 9780099543558^[9]
• All I Want for Christmas (2010) (Amy Silver) ISBN 9780099553229^[10]
• One Minute to Midnight (2011) (Amy Silver) ISBN 9780099564638^[11]
• The Reunion (2013) (Amy Silver) ISBN 9780099574491^[12]
• The Girl on the Train (2015) (Paula Hawkins) ISBN 9781594634024^[13]
• Into the Water (2017) (Paula Hawkins) ISBN 9780735211209
• A Slow Fire Burning (2021) (Paula Hawkins) ISBN 9780735211230
• Blind Spot (2022) (Paula Hawkins) ISBN 9781529176636
• The Blue Hour (2024) (Paula Hawkins) ISBN 9781529938074

References

1. 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. 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. 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

• Official website
• BBC Meet the Author: Paula Hawkins