Aliya Whiteley


Aliya Whiteley is a British novelist, short story writer and poet.

Biography

Aliya Whiteley was born in Barnstaple, North Devon, in 1974 and grew up in the seaside town of Ilfracombe which formed the inspiration for many of her stories and novels. She graduated from Ilfracombe College in 1995, gaining a BA degree in theatre, Film and Television Studies from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.
In 2011 she was awarded an MSc in Library and Information Management by the University of Northumbria; her dissertation involved conducting a case study into the research techniques of modern novelists. She currently lives in West Sussex.

Works

Novels

Novellas

  • Mean Mode Median
  • The Beauty
  • ''The Arrival of Missives''

Short stories

  • Witchcraft in the Harem
  • "Sieve"
  • "Sebastian Bugs"
  • "1926 in Brazilian Football"
  • "Penelope Napolitano and the Butterflies"
  • "Flushed"
  • "Wingspan"
  • "House of Infinite Diversions"
  • "Territory Blank"

Awards

Whiteley's short story "Green River" was awarded second place in the 2012 British Fantasy Society Short Story Competition. Her novel The Loosening Skin was nominated for a British Fantasy Award in 2019.
Whiteley's Jelly Park won the Drabblecast 2007 People's Choice Award for best short story.
Three Eight One was the winner of the BSFA Award for Best Novel in 2025.