 | Some of this article'slisted sourcesmay not bereliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed.(October 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Paula Hawkins | |
|---|---|
 Hawkins atGothenburg Book Fair in 2015 | |
| Born | (1972-08-26)26 August 1972 (age 53) |
| Pen name |
|
| Occupation | Novelist, journalist |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Keble College, Oxford |
| Notable works | |
| Website | |
| paulahawkinsbooks | |
Paula Hawkins (born 26 August 1972) is a British author best known for her top-sellingpsychological thriller novelThe Girl on the Train (2015), which deals with themes of domestic violence, alcohol, and drug abuse.[1][2] The novel wasadapted into a film starringEmily Blunt in 2016.[3] Hawkins' second thriller novel,Into the Water, was released in 2017.[4]
Hawkins was born and raised inHarare,Zimbabwe (known at the time as Salisbury,Rhodesia), 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 attendedArundel School, Harare, Zimbabwe then studied for herA-Levels atCollingham College, an independent college inKensington, West London.[6] Hawkins readphilosophy, politics and economics atKeble College,University of Oxford.[6][7] She worked as a journalist forThe 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]
Around 2009, Hawkins began to write romantic comedy fiction under the alias Amy Silver, writing four novels includingConfessions of a Reluctant Recessionista.
She did not achieve a commercial breakthrough until she challenged herself to write a darker, more serious story.[6] Her best-selling novelThe 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 afilm in 2016.[1] In November 2016, she was listed as one ofBBC's 100 Women.[8] Paula's second thrillerInto The Water was published in May 2017 and went on to become aSunday Times andNYT bestseller. Her novelA Slow Fire Burning was published on 31 August 2021.
