Denise Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Denise Hamilton is an American crime novelist, journalist and editor of the Edgar-award winning anthologies Los Angeles Noir and Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics. Hamilton’s five Eve Diamond crime novels have been short-listed for many awards, including the Edgar Award
in mystery, Willa Cather award in literary fiction and the UK's Creasey Dagger Award.
story she wrote about parachute kids – wealthy Asian immigrant children who live alone in big homes while their parents remain in Asia taking care of family business. When Hamilton filed her story, a Times editor asked Hamilton’s supervisor to check her facts because she found it hard to believe such an outlandish tale was real.
Hamilton’s sixth novel, The Last Embrace, was a 1940s Hollywood noir
inspired by the disappearance of Jean Spangler
, a starlet linked to L.A. gangster Mickey Cohen
.
Her seventh novel, Damage Control, will be published by Scribner
in September, 2011.
Before turning to fiction, Hamilton was a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, reporting on the city’s sprawling multicultural suburbs. During this time, Hamilton also spent six months in former Yugoslavia
on a Fulbright Fellowship and traveled widely in Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union during the waning days of Communism, reporting on political, cultural and economic trends.
Her novels have been published in Turkey, France, the United Kingdom and Japan.
The Los Angeles Noir anthologies, (Akashic Books
) have been translated into French, Russian and Italian. The first volume features 17 stories set in different L.A. neighborhoods by authors Janet Fitch
, Michael Connelly
, Susan Straight
, Hector Tobar
, Patt Morrison
and others. Los Angeles Noir Volume 2: The Classics reprints stories by Raymond Chandler
, James M. Cain
, Paul Cain
, Walter Mosley
, Ross Macdonald
, James Ellroy
, noir pulp queen Leigh Brackett
and Macdonald’s wife Margaret Millar
and range from 1930s to 1990s Los Angeles.
Hamilton also writes “Uncommon Scents,” a monthly perfume column for the Los Angeles Times.
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
in mystery, Willa Cather award in literary fiction and the UK's Creasey Dagger Award.
Biography, Literary Career
Hamilton’s novels draw on the city’s history, politics, diversity and culture and she calls her hometown of Los Angeles “The Ultimate Femme Fatale.” Her first novel, The Jasmine Trade, was a national bestseller that grew out of a Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
story she wrote about parachute kids – wealthy Asian immigrant children who live alone in big homes while their parents remain in Asia taking care of family business. When Hamilton filed her story, a Times editor asked Hamilton’s supervisor to check her facts because she found it hard to believe such an outlandish tale was real.
Hamilton’s sixth novel, The Last Embrace, was a 1940s Hollywood noir
Hardboiled
Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...
inspired by the disappearance of Jean Spangler
Jean Spangler
Jean Elizabeth Spangler was an American dancer, model and bit-part actress in Hollywood films and in early television.-Life and career:...
, a starlet linked to L.A. gangster Mickey Cohen
Mickey Cohen
Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen was a gangster based in Los Angeles and part of the Jewish Mafia, and also had strong ties to the American Mafia from the 1930s through 1960s.-Early life:...
.
Her seventh novel, Damage Control, will be published by Scribner
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
in September, 2011.
Before turning to fiction, Hamilton was a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, reporting on the city’s sprawling multicultural suburbs. During this time, Hamilton also spent six months in former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
on a Fulbright Fellowship and traveled widely in Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union during the waning days of Communism, reporting on political, cultural and economic trends.
Her novels have been published in Turkey, France, the United Kingdom and Japan.
The Los Angeles Noir anthologies, (Akashic Books
Akashic Books
Akashic Books is a Brooklyn-based independent publisher. Akashic Books' collection began with Arthur Nersesian's THE FUCK UP in 1996, and has since expanded to include Dennis Cooper's "Little House on the Bowery" series , Chris Abani's Black Goat poetry series, and the internationally successful...
) have been translated into French, Russian and Italian. The first volume features 17 stories set in different L.A. neighborhoods by authors Janet Fitch
Janet Fitch
Janet Fitch is most famously known as the author of the Oprah's Book Club novel White Oleander, which became a film in 2002. She is a graduate of Reed College, located in Portland, Oregon....
, Michael Connelly
Michael Connelly
Michael Connelly is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. His books, which have been translated into 36 languages, have garnered him many awards...
, Susan Straight
Susan Straight
Susan Straight is an American author and National Book Award finalist.-Background:Susan Straight has published six novels, a novel for young readers and a children's book...
, Hector Tobar
Hector Tobar
Héctor Tobar is a Los Angeles author and journalist, whose work examines the evolving and interdependent relationship between Latin America and the United States.-Life:...
, Patt Morrison
Patt Morrison
Patt Morrison is a journalist, author, and radio—television personality based in Los Angeles and Southern California.-Media:Morrison is a writer for the Los Angeles Times, with the weekly 'Patt Morrison Asks' column, and received the Joseph M. Quinn award in 2000 from the Los Angeles Press Club...
and others. Los Angeles Noir Volume 2: The Classics reprints stories by Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
, James M. Cain
James M. Cain
James Mallahan Cain was an American author and journalist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the roman noir...
, Paul Cain
Paul Cain (author)
Paul Cain was the pen name used by George Carol Sims , an American pulp fiction author and screenwriter...
, Walter Mosley
Walter Mosley
Walter Ellis Mosley is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private investigator and World War II veteran living in the Watts neighborhood of Los...
, Ross Macdonald
Ross Macdonald
Not to be confused with John D. MacDonaldRoss Macdonald is the pseudonym of the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar...
, James Ellroy
James Ellroy
Lee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black...
, noir pulp queen Leigh Brackett
Leigh Brackett
Leigh Douglass Brackett was an American author, particularly of science fiction. She was also a screenwriter, known for her work on famous films such as The Big Sleep , Rio Bravo , The Long Goodbye and The Empire Strikes Back .-Life:Leigh Brackett was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California...
and Macdonald’s wife Margaret Millar
Margaret Millar
Margaret Ellis Millar was an American-Canadian mystery and suspense writer.Born in Kitchener, Ontario, she was educated there and in Toronto. She moved to the United States after marrying Kenneth Millar...
and range from 1930s to 1990s Los Angeles.
Hamilton also writes “Uncommon Scents,” a monthly perfume column for the Los Angeles Times.
Eve Diamond series
- The Jasmine Trade (2001)
- Sugar Skull (2003)
- Last Lullaby (2004)
- Savage Garden (2005)
- Prisoner of Memory (2006)