Louise Penny

Louise Penny CM (born 1958) is a Canadian author of mystery novels set in the Canadian province of Quebec centred on the work of francophone Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. Penny's first career was as a radio broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). After she turned to writing, she won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha Award for best mystery novel of the year five times, including four consecutive years (2007–2010), and the Anthony Award for best novel of the year five times, including four consecutive years (2010–2013). Her novels have been published in 23 languages.

Louise Penny
Louise Penny in 2009
Born (1958-07-01) July 1, 1958
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationNovelist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityCanadian
EducationBachelor of Applied Arts
Alma materRyerson University
Period2005–present
GenreMystery fiction
Notable worksChief Inspector Armand Gamache series
SpouseMichael Whitehead
Website
www.louisepenny.com

Early life and career with CBC

Penny was born in Toronto[1] in 1958.[2] Her mother was an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction, with a particular liking for crime fiction,[3] and Louise grew up reading mystery writers such as Agatha Christie, Georges Simenon, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Michael Innes.[3]

Penny earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Radio and Television) from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in 1979.[4] After graduation, at age 21, she embarked on an 18-year career as a radio host and journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.[5] At the start of her broadcasting career, Penny took postings at locations far from friends and family, and to help deal with feelings of loneliness and isolation, she increasingly turned to alcohol. At age 35, she admitted to an alcohol problem, and has been sober since.[6] Shortly afterward, she met her future husband, Michael Whitehead, head of hematology at Montreal Children's Hospital,[7] on a blind date.[6]

Literary career

After her marriage, Penny left the CBC to take up writing. She started a historical novel but had difficulty finishing it, and eventually switched to mystery writing.[6] She entered her first novel, Still Life, in the "Debut Dagger" competition in the United Kingdom, placing second out of 800 entries.[6] The novel won other awards, including the "New Blood" Dagger award in the United Kingdom, the Arthur Ellis Award in Canada for best first crime novel, the Dilys Award,[8] the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best First Novel in the United States.

Penny continues to write, garnering major crime novel award nominations for almost every one of her novels and subsequently winning several of those awards.[8]

Her work features Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of the homicide department of the Sûreté du Québec.[9] The novels are set in the province of Quebec but feature many hallmarks of the British whodunit genre, including murders by unconventional means, bucolic villages, large casts of suspects, red herrings, and a dramatic disclosure of the murderer in the last few pages of the book.[10]

In 2009, Penny helped to launch a new award for aspiring Canadian mystery writers, the Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Novel.[6]

Penny currently lives in Knowlton, a small village in Quebec's Eastern Townships about 100 km from Montreal, Quebec.[1] Her husband Michael died on September 18, 2016.[11]

Honours

In 2013, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to Canadian culture as an author shining a spotlight on the Eastern Townships of Quebec".[12] In 2017 she was made a Member of the Order of Quebec.[13]

Movie adaptations

For several years, Penny resisted selling the TV or movie rights to her books, afraid of losing creative control of her characters.[14] However, when approached by PDM Entertainment and Attraction Images and offered a position as executive producer during film production, she changed her mind and agreed to sell them the rights to her first two novels.[14] Still Life went into production in the fall of 2012, with British actor Nathaniel Parker cast as Chief Inspector Gamache.[14] The movie aired on CBC TV in 2013.[14]

Works
Main article: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache

References
  1. "About Louise Penny". LouisePenny.com. 2008.
  2. "Louise Penny". Fantastic Fiction. 2008.
  3. Wagner, Vit (2010-10-15). "What led them to a life of crime". Toronto Star. Toronto ON Canada =: Torstar Inc. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
  4. The Agony and the Ecstacy: 1979 RTA Yearbook. Toronto. 1979.
  5. "Louise Penny up for best crime novel award". CBC News. 2008-04-30.
  6. Yanofsky, Joel (November 2007). "Louise Penny's second chance: How a troubled past gives her mystery novels an edge". Quill & Quire. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  7. "In Memoriam: V. Michael Whitehead (1934-2016)". McGill Med e-news. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  8. "Louise Penny Books". LouisePenny.com. 2008.
  9. "Quebec's Louise Penny shortlisted for Agatha mystery award". CBC News. 2010-02-20. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  10. "Whodunit". Knowledge Rush. 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  11. Marandola, Sabrina (September 19, 2016). "Dr. Michael Whitehead, husband of author Louise Penny, dead at 82". CBC News. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  12. "Governor General Announces 90 New Appointments to the Order of Canada". December 30, 2013.
  13. "Louise Penny – Ordre national du Québec".
  14. Kelly, Brendan (2 November 2012). "Louise Penny's detective novels get small-screen treatment from CBC-TV". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  15. "Louise Penny Author - Official site". www.louisepenny.com. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  16. "Agatha Awards". Malice Domestic. 2008. Archived from the original on 2017-01-21.
  17. "Linwood Barclay, Louise Penny touted for best Canadian crime novel". CBC News. 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
  18. "Louise Penny wins Agatha for best mystery". CBC News: Books. 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  19. "Quebec's Louise Penny 'thrilled' by 4th Agatha Award". CBC News. 2011-05-02. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  20. "Louise Penny nabs crime-writing prize". CBC News. 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  21. "The Macavity Awards 2012 Nominees". Book Reporter.com.
  22. Anthony Awards Winners and Nominees Archived 2012-02-07 at the Wayback Machine, Bouchercon info
  23. Agatha Award ominees Archived 2017-01-21 at the Wayback Machine, Malice Domestic.com
  24. "Macavity Awards 2013". Book Reporter.com.
  25. "Louise Penny, Quebec crime writer, shortlisted for the Edgars". CBC News. 2014-01-17. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  • Ledford-Miller, Linda. “The Dangers of Village Life: The Novels of Louise Penny.” The Nashwaak Review 38-39 (Jan 2018): 297-313.
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