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Jane Eaton Hamilton : Biography


Jane Eaton Hamilton
Photo credit: Shawna Fletcher

Jane Eaton Hamilton was born and raised in Ancaster, ON. She moved to the US in 1973 where she attended Washington University in St Louis, and NYU in NY. She moved back to Canada and settled in the west�in Cochrane, AB, where she had her first daughter, then near Nelson, BC, before moving to Vancouver, where she gave birth to her second daughter. For five years she lived on Saltspring Island.


Jane published her first book, Jessica's Elevator, in the 80s with Press Porcepic. She published two books of poetry with Brick Books, and two short fiction collections with Douglas and MacIntyre and Oberon.


'Body Rain' was shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Award. 'July Nights' was shortlisted for the VanCity Award and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize in the BC Book Prizes. 'Hunger' was longlisted for the Lambda Literary Awards and shortlisted for the Ferro-Grumley Award. 'Going Santa Fe' won the 1997 League of Canadian Poets Poetry Chapbook Award.


Short work has been published in the NY Times, Seventeen magazine, En Route, The Globe and Mail, Macleans, and many literary magazines. Jane has twice won the Prism International fiction prize, and she is the recipient of many other awards. She has won first prize in the CBC Literary Awards for fiction.


Jane came out in 1982. She was a litigant in Canada's same-sex marriage case from 2000-2003, and then maintained an website called queermarriage for the next several years to aid couples coming to BC from other countries with queer-friendly resources. She also loaned herself out as a wedding witness and consequently attended a plethora of gay and lesbian weddings.


Jane's non-literary interests include a fascination with ornithology and primatology, in particular in the area of communication. She is a Master Gardener and has always been a keen dancer. She has worked as a photographer. She sketches and paints regularly.


Jane Eaton Hamilton's works copyright © to the author.


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