Born in Montreal, Chris Hutchinson is the author of the poetry books Unfamiliar Weather (Muses’ Company, 2005), Other People’s Lives (Brick Books, 2009), and A Brief History of the Short-lived (Nightwood Editions, 2012), which was short-listed for Acorn-Plantos Award. His novel Jonas in Frames (Goose Lane Editions / icehouse poetry, 2014) has been variously described as a “picaresque novel,” a “speculative autobiography in verse,” and “an epic poem disguised as a novel.” His most recent poetry collection In the Vicinity of Riches was published by Goose Lane Editions/icehouse poetry in spring, 2020, and his poetry chapbook, Meanwhile Myrmidons was released in the fall of 2021 by Anstruther Press.
Chris holds a BA in Writing from the University of Victoria, an MFA in Poetry from Arizona State University, and a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Houston.
Distinctions include: the Earle Birney Prize for Poetry, the Sonoran Poetry Prize, and the Brazos Bookstore/Academy of American Poets Prize. He has received fellowships and grants from the Banff Centre for the Arts, Can Serrat International Artist Residency (Spain), the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Vermont College of Fine Arts, Arizona State University’s Virginia G. Piper Center, the University of Houston’s Cullen Foundation, and the Inprint Foundation. Professional writing grants have been awarded from the BC Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts, and Chris has served as a Peer Assessor for the Canada Council’s Grants to Professional Writers Program in Poetry. Close calls with fame include being a finalist for the William Faulkner–William Wisdom Novella Contest and short-listed for the Acorn-Plantos Award.
As an editor, Chris has interned with Four Way Books, a literary publisher based in New York City; and he has served as the International Poetry Editor for Hayden’s Ferry Review, and as a guest editor for PRISM International‘s editorial board.
As an educator, Chris has over ten years of experience teaching Creative Writing, English Literature, and English Composition in universities and community colleges all across Canada and the United States. Chris has also taught with organizations such as Writers in the Schools in Houston, TX, and the Young Adult Writers Program in Tempe, AZ.
Chris currently teaches Creative Writing at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta. He is available for readings, workshops, craft talks, manuscript consultations, jackass dares, and dance parties. Feel free to contact him on the Contact Page.
My Life–a Short Film