On Heaven's Hill

“Kim Heacox is the bard of Alaska, drawing stories from the power and music of the land itself. His new book, On Heaven’s Hill, is truly a novel to match Alaska’s mountains. The braided plot runs fast. The characters are broken and shining, as if eroded to their cores. The language calls out with rain-carved clarity. And the truth that the novel tells is both eternal and seismic: a girl, a wounded vet, and a hungry wolf all come to know that in our struggle to heal the reeling world, we may find a chance, maybe a last chance, to heal ourselves.” —Kathleen Dean Moore, author of Earth’s Wild Music

“Kim Heacox knows Alaska—the wilderness, the animals, the communities. He has found a way to dramatize the conflicts tearing at us, while reminding us of the power of the land to heal. And he has found a bold way to give wolves a voice in the story—while toying with that familiar Chekhovian dictum: don’t display a grenade launcher in act one unless you intend to blow up something in act three.” —Tom Kizzia, author of Cold Mountain Path and Pilgrim’s Wilderness

“Few writers know Alaska’s wildlands and human landscapes like Kim Heacox. In this remarkable novel, humans and wild things circle each other until they collide in gripping and inspirational ways. Whether you seek stirring insights, entertaining prose, or both, On Heaven’s Hill will capture your days and dreams to the last page. This is Heacox’s finest work.” —Daniel Henry, Pushcart Prize winner and author of Across the Shaman’s River: John Muir, the Tlingit Stronghold, and the Opening of the North

“When an intrepid wolf, a plucky twelve-year-old girl, and a former trapper must face a rapidly changing ecosystem, the more-than-human world offers powerful advice: listen closely, expand your range, and find power in the pack. Kim Heacox writes with fierce love and lucid clarity about Southeast Alaska, a place where the line between human and nature has, thankfully, nearly faded. On Heaven’s Hill is the kind of story the planet needs right now.” —Kimi Eisele, author of The Lightest Object in the Universe

“A dazzling tale of a young girl, a desperate father, and a silver wolf caught in the middle of a battle between an Alaskan band of war veterans and corrupt land developers. Another compelling read from the author of Jimmy Bluefeather and The Only Kayak.” —Lynne M. Spreen, author of Dakota Blues and We Did This Once Before

"The novel’s painterly prose evokes Alaska as a place of great beauty and scarcity...a well-plotted tale of frontier utopianism that should appeal to nature lovers.” —Kirkus

Praise for Jimmy Bluefeather:

“Part quest, part rebirth, Heacox's debut novel spins a story of Alaska's Tlingit people and the land, an old man dying, and a young man learning to live.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Heacox does a superb job of transcending his characters’ unique geography to create a heartwarming, all-American story.” —Booklist

“A splendid, unique gem of a novel.” —Library Journal (starred review)

"This is a book that could only have been written by someone who has paid very close and very loving attention to the natural and human communities—the packs and families, and the individuals that make them up. That intimate and tender observation produces a magnificent book, full of reality and hope and wild joy.” –Bill McKibben, American environmentalist and founder of 350.org 

• Commended for Favorite Book of 2023 2023 (United States)
• Short-listed for General Fiction Finalist, American Fiction Awards 2024 (United States)
• Short-listed for Military Fiction Finalist, American Fiction Awards 2024 (United States)
• Short-listed for Banff Mountain Book Competition (Mountain Fiction 2023 (Canada)
• Short-listed for Literary Fiction Finalist, American Fiction Awards 2024 (United States)