Nora Alleyn grew up in a bicultural family in Québec City. Following a B.A. in languages at McGill University, she joined the Department of External Affairs and lived in Europe and the Middle East. She studied translation at Laval, McGill and the Université de Montréal, and creative writing at the National University of Ireland (Galway), Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference (University of Vermont), Summer Film Institute (Massachussetts), and West Word (UBC).