She was born in Toronto, Ontario, to writers Dave Godfrey and Ellen Godfrey. As a child she relocated with her family to Victoria, British Columbia. Godfrey attended the University of Toronto and Sarah Lawrence College, from which she received a MFA in Creative Writing. She worked in Toronto and New York as a journalist and editor before writing her first novel, The Torn Skirt. Her first book,TheTorn Skirt, a novel, was shortlisted for the 2002 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Described as an antidote to the sad boy lit of David Foster Wallace it received a favorable review in the New York Times. Her second book, Under the Bridge, an investigation into the beating death of Reena Virk, received British Columbia's National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction in 2006. The book was optioned for film adaptation by Reese Witherspoon's Type A Productions, with director Catherine Hardwicke attached to direct. In 2017 Godfrey wrote a follow up to her book with an update on the legal fate of the two convicted killers and the lives of the girls involved in the crime for Vice Magazine. The book was also included in Rolling Stone’s 2017 list of 11 True Crime books for Music lovers and Men’s Journal’s list of the 10 Best True Crime Books. On June 25, 2019, Gallery Books will publish a new edition of Under the Bridge with an introduction by Mary Gaitskill. In August 2016 Godfrey curated an acclaimed gallery show at the Instar Lodge in Germantown, NY, titled Girls in Trees. Featuring works by over 33 artists and writers, including the photographer Brigitte Lacombe, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Sharon Olds, the novelists Mary Gaitiskill and Samantha Hunt, poet Nick Flynn, painter Lisa Sanditz, sculptors Julianne Swartz and Diann Bauer. The accompanying publication includes photographs, text, and other artistic materials offering a variety of perspectives on the theme of girlhood and nature. Additionally, she continues to write portraits of unconventional, yet influential women, most recently interviewing Robyn Doolittle on her 2014 expose of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s tumultuous political career and interviewing German actress Barbara Sukowa on the legacy of Hannah Arendt. Her novel The Dilettante is forthcoming from Knopf. The novel will blend literary fiction and original reportage to explore the early life of Peggy Guggenheim, her first gallery, and a brief, unlikely affair with Samuel Beckett. In 2016, Godfrey was awarded a Fellowship from The MacDowell Colony to work on the novel. Prior to this, she was Visiting Artist at The American Academy of Rome. She is an adjunct assistant professor of creative writing at Columbia University, where she teaches fiction workshops and a seminar on Anti-Heroines in literature. Former students who went on to publish works influenced by the themes of the seminar include Mandy Berman, Naima Coster and Miranda Pennington.
In Popular Media
The Torn Skirt established a cult following with fans including Thurston Moore, Mary Gaitskill and made an appearance on Season 3 of Gossip Girl.
Under the Bridge received a mention in a 2006 interview with Peter Dinklage.
In an interview with Laura Lippman, the novelist Megan Abbott, show runner and writer of the forthcoming Netflix series Dare Me, cites Under the Bridge as inspiration and part of a movement of contemporary “dark female fiction.”
