Jane Rule is celebrated internationally for her fiction and her non-fiction. Her career began in 1964 with the publication of her novel Desert of the Heart. Eleven books have followed. She was an observer of social and emotional relationships, and she wrote with warmth and candor.

She came to Canada from the U.S.A. in 1956 and worked as assistant director of International House at UBC. She taught some English before retiring to Galiano Island in 1976. She served on the executive of the Writers’ Union of Canada. She advocated free speech and gay-rights. On the subject of British Columbia’s natural spaces, she was both passionate and effective. B.C. Author Achievement Day, she was noted for having steadfastly and uniquely displayed exceptional and inspirational leadership, courage, and creativity in the literary arts since her arrival in Vancouver. She was mentor to many writers and artists.