Loranne Brown

Loranne Brown (born 1955) is a Canadian writer,^[1] most noted for her 1998 novel The Handless Maiden.^[2]

Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario, she lived in Bermuda for a number of years after marrying her husband Lorne, before they returned to Canada in 1989.^[3] She is currently based in Langley, British Columbia,^[4] where she has been a creative writing instructor at Trinity Western University.^[1]

The Handless Maiden, her debut novel, was published in 1998 by Doubleday Canada,^[5] The novel centred on Mariah Standhoffer, a young woman whose burgeoning talent as a concert pianist is destroyed when she accidentally shoots off her hand while trying to kill her sexually abusive grandfather in self-defense, but who ultimately triumphs over adversity to become a successful composer.^[6] The novel received a number of literary award nominations, including for the Books in Canada First Novel Award,^[7] the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize,^[8] and the initial longlist for the International Dublin Literary Award.^[9]

She has not published any further novels, although she has continued to publish short fiction and poetry in literary magazines.^[1]