Alison Louise Kennedy (born 22 Oct 1965) is a Scottish writer, academic and stand-up comedian. She writes novels, short stories and non-fiction and is known for her dark tone, blending of realism and fantasy, and for her serious approach to her work. She contributes columns and reviews to European newspapers. In 2009, she donated the short story Vanish to Oxfam's Ox-Tales project, four collections of stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the "Air" collection. In 2016, her novel Serious Sweet was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. Less