The novel was shortlisted for the prestigious Sapir Prize in Israel (2005), was awarded the Presidential Prize for literature (Israel, 2006) and has been translated into English (Harvill Secker, London), French (Edition Du Seuil, Paris), Greek (Metaichmio, Athens) and Dutch (Ambo Anthos, Amsterdam).

Hilu earned a degree in dramatic writing at Tel Aviv University, studying under Israel's leading playwrights, such as Yehoshua Sobol and Shmuel Hasfari.

His plays, "The Wedding" and "The Day of the Dogs", were produced in theatre festivals in Israel, and were both translated into English for the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club.

During the 90s, two of his short stories were published in Israeli literary magazines: "The Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem" (Iton 77, 1992) and "Last Seen" (Moznaim, 1993).

In 2018, Alon Hilu joined more than 150 Israeli artists, authors, and intellectuals in signing an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of the Knesset.