Combining dark comedy, psychological horror, and satire, contemporary fiction often explores body image, obsession, female relationships, and artistic ambition. Mona Awad gained widespread recognition with her satire Bunny, which follows an isolated creative writing student drawn into a sinister, cult-like clique of wealthy classmates. Her surreal narratives examine the dark side of intimacy, beauty standards, and creative production with sharp humor and chilling atmosphere.
Awad has established a distinct voice in Canadian and American literature through novels that blur the boundary between reality and psychological delusion. Recognized by literary icon Margaret Atwood as her heir, she weaves dark fairy-tale motifs and satire into character-driven stories that interrogate contemporary social pressures.
Career & Background
Born on August 22, 1978, in Montreal, Quebec, Awad was raised by an Egyptian father who immigrated to Canada in the 1970s and a French-Canadian mother. She moved to Mississauga, Ontario, at age thirteen, attending Father Michael Goetz Secondary School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from York University in 2004, followed by a Master of Arts at the University of Edinburgh, a Master of Fine Arts at Brown University, and a PhD from the University of Denver.
Awad launched her novelistic career with 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, which was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and received the Amazon.ca First Novel Award. She subsequently joined the creative writing faculty at Syracuse University as an assistant professor in 2020, where she teaches fiction while publishing award-winning novels and short fiction in venues such as The New Yorker, McSweeney's, and The Walrus.
Writing Style & Themes
Awad's writing blends gothic horror, absurd satire, and psychological realism. Her works frequently center on female interiority, loneliness, physical transformation, and the toxic dimensions of female camaraderie. By placing her characters in heightened, uncanny situations—such as sinister skin-care clinics, surreal academic cliques, or pain-management struggles connected to Shakespearean theater—Awad exposes the societal expectations placed on women's bodies and aesthetic appearances.
Major Works
- 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl — Awad's debut novel examines body image, identity, and self-perception through interconnected stories. It won the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize.
- Bunny — A darkly comic novel following an MFA student who becomes entangled with a mysterious group of sugary, sinister women. It was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror and the New England Book Award, named a Best Book of 2019 by Time and Vogue, and optioned for film adaptation by Bad Robot Productions.
- All's Well — This novel merges Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well with supernatural drama, following a college theater professor suffering from chronic pain who makes a dark bargain. It was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror.
- Rouge — A surreal psychological horror novel set in the luxury wellness and skincare industry, where a grieving woman uncovers a cult-like obsession with physical perfection. The novel was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror and is being adapted for film by Fremantle and Sinestra.
- We Love You, Bunny — Longlisted for the 2025 Giller Prize, this title expands upon Awad's celebrated, darkly satirical literary world and continues her exploration of complex female relationships and psychological tension.
