The UBC Creative Writing program has announced its new chair.

Montreal-born Canadian author Alix Ohlin will become the program's next chair on January 1.

Ohlin published two short story collections and her 2012 novel Inside received several award nominations and named book of the year.

She has been an English professor at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania since 2004 and has taught at McGill University as the Mordecai Richler writer-in-residence for 2016-17. She specializes in fiction, screenwriting, and environmental writing.

Ohlin will join the program as an associate professor.

UBC creative writing professor Linda Svendsen will remain an acting chair until December 31.

In June 2016, the UBC board of governors fired the former creative writing program chair, author Steven Galloway, after he was suspended in 2015 when allegations were made against him.

The controversy surrounding Galloway sparked a nationwide debate within literary and academic commuinities, with several authors speaking out about it.

The university began a search for a new chair in December.