Eaton Hamilton


Eaton Hamilton is a Canadian short story writer, novelist, essayist and poet, who goes by "Hamilton", and uses they/their pronouns.
Hamilton has published the novel Weekend, three books of poetry, Body Rain and Steam-Cleaning Love, Love Will Burst into a Thousand Shapes, a poetry chapbook and two volumes of short fiction July Nights and Other Stories, and Hunger,. They are also the author, under the pseudonymous name of Ellen Prescott, of the memoir Mondays are Yellow, Sundays are Grey retitled No More Hurt which was included on the Guardian's Best Book of the Year list and was a Sunday Times bestseller. Their books have been shortlisted for the BC Book Prizes, the ReLit Award, the VanCity Award, the Pat Lowther Award, the Ferro-Grumley Award, and the MIND Book Prize.
Their short work has appeared in such publications as En Route, The Sun, The New York Times, Maclean's, Geist, LARB, Guernica, the Missouri Review, Gay Magazine, Salon, The Rumpus, The Globe and Mail and Seventeen. They have won many awards for short work, including, twice, first prize in the CBC Literary Awards, 2015's Lit Pop Prize, judged by George Saunders, twice first prize in the Prism International Short Story Award, Canadian Poetry Chapbook of the Year from the League of Canadian Poets, the event Non-Fiction Award, and many others. They have had notable essays in BAE multiple times, and a notable short story in BASS. Work has appeared in the anthology series BAX 2020: Best American Experimental Writing.
They were a litigant in the Canadian same-sex marriage case between 2000 and 2003. They spent several years as a photographer and for years volunteered for the organization Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.
Since 2020, Hamilton has created a new series of small oil paintings.

Notable awards

  • Splinter, Notable, Best American Essays, 2022
  • Game Show, Best Canadian Poetry, 2020
  • The Dead Green Man, Event, Notable, Best American Essays, 2021
  • The Pleasure Scale, Gay Magazine, Notable, Best American Essays, 2021
  • Battery, Best American Experimental Writing, 2020
  • Splinter, second place, Malahat Review, cnf Contest, 2020
  • The Dead Green Man, Event, winner, Non Fiction Contest, 2020
  • The Nothing Between Your Legs, Notable, Best American Essays, 2019
  • Skinning the Rabbit, Notable, Best American Essays, 2018
  • Wish You Were Here Best Canadian Poetry, 2016
  • Never Say I Didn't Bring You Flowers, Notable, Best American Essays, 2016
  • Battery, Lit Pop fiction, 2015, winner
  • Smiley, CBC Canada Writes, fiction, 2014
  • The Lost Boy, CBC Literary Awards, first prize, fiction, 2003
  • Territory Journey Prize anthology, 1999
  • Goombay Smash Prism Int'l Short Fiction Prize, first, 1998, Best Canadian Stories, 1999
  • Graduation Journey Prize anthology, 1998
  • How to Have Heart Disease notable, Best American Short Stories, 1997
  • Death in One Another's Arms story, cited, Pushcart Prize, 1989

    Notable awards, books

  • Weekend was longlisted for the ReLit Award
  • Going Santa Fe won the 1997 League of Canadian Poets Canadian Poetry Chapbook Award
  • July Nights was short-listed for the VanCity Award and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Award in the BC Book Prizes
  • Body Rain was short-listed for the Pat Lowther Award
  • No More Hurt was shortlisted for the VanCity Award and the MIND book award
  • Hunger, 2003 Publishing Triangle Awards, Ferro Grumley Prize, finalist, longlisted Lambda Literary Award, 2004