Louise Penny

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

Louise Penny (born July 1, 1958)[1] CM OQ 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.

Early life and career with the CBC

Penny was born in Toronto, Canada,[2] on July 1, 1958.[1][3] Her mother was an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction, with a particular liking for crime fiction,[4] and Louise grew up reading mystery writers such as Agatha Christie, Georges Simenon, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Michael Innes.[4]

Penny earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Radio and Television) from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Toronto Metropolitan University) in 1979.[5] After graduation, aged 21, she embarked on an 18-year career as a radio host and journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).[6]

Literary career

Penny left the CBC in 1996 to take up writing.[7] She started a historical novel but had difficulty finishing it, and eventually switched to mystery writing.[7] She entered her first novel, Still Life, in the "Debut Dagger" competition in the United Kingdom, placing second out of 800 entries.[7] 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.[7]

Personal life

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 the age of 35, she admitted to an alcohol problem and has been sober since.[7] Shortly afterwards, she met her future husband, Michael Whitehead, head of hematology at Montreal Children's Hospital,[11] on a blind date.[7] Michael died on September 18, 2016.[12]

Penny currently lives in Knowlton, a small village in Quebec's Eastern Townships about 100 km from Montreal, Quebec.[2]

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".[13] In 2017 she was made a Member of the Order of Quebec.[14]

Adaptations

For several years, Penny resisted selling the TV or movie rights to her books, afraid of losing creative control of her characters.[15] 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.[15] Still Life went into production in the fall of 2012, with British actor Nathaniel Parker cast as Chief Inspector Gamache.[15] The movie aired on CBC TV in 2013.[15] In September 2021, production of Three Pines began in Montreal and rural Quebec, starring Alfred Molina.[16] After airing only one season, the series was cancelled by Prime Video.[17]

Works

Inspector Gamache series

Other works

References

  1. 1 2 3 Napier, Jim. "Louise Penny". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  2. 1 2 3 "About Louise Penny". LouisePenny.com. 2008.
  3. ↑ "Louise Penny". Fantastic Fiction. 2008.
  4. 1 2 Wagner, Vit (October 15, 2010). "What led them to a life of crime". Toronto Star. Toronto ON, Canada: Torstar Inc. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  5. ↑ The Agony and the Ecstacy: 1979 RTA Yearbook. Toronto. 1979.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ↑ "Louise Penny up for best crime novel award". CBC News. April 30, 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Yanofsky, Joel (November 2007). "Louise Penny's second chance: How a troubled past gives her mystery novels an edge". Quill & Quire. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 "Louise Penny Books". LouisePenny.com. 2008.
  9. ↑ "Quebec's Louise Penny shortlisted for Agatha mystery award". CBC News. February 20, 2010. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Whodunit". Knowledge Rush. 2009. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  11. ↑ "In Memoriam: V. Michael Whitehead (1934-2016)". McGill Med e-news. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  12. ↑ Marandola, Sabrina (September 19, 2016). "Dr. Michael Whitehead, husband of author Louise Penny, dead at 82". CBC News. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  13. ↑ "Governor General Announces 90 New Appointments to the Order of Canada". December 30, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Louise Penny – Ordre national du Québec".
  15. 1 2 3 4 Kelly, Brendan (November 2, 2012). "Louise Penny's detective novels get small-screen treatment from CBC-TV". Montreal Gazette. Montreal. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Amazon Prime Video and Left Bank Pictures Begin Production on the Scripted Canadian Amazon Original Drama Series Three Pines". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  17. ↑ Dowling, Amber (13 March 2023). "Prime Video Cancels Alfred Molina-Led 'Three Pines' After One Season". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  18. ↑ "Louise Penny Author - Official site". www.louisepenny.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  19. 1 2 "Agatha Awards". Malice Domestic. 2008. Archived from the original on January 21, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Linwood Barclay, Louise Penny touted for best Canadian crime novel". CBC News. April 24, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  21. ↑ "Louise Penny wins Agatha for best mystery". CBC News: Books. May 3, 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
  22. ↑ "Quebec's Louise Penny 'thrilled' by 4th Agatha Award". CBC News. May 2, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  23. ↑ "Louise Penny nabs crime-writing prize". CBC News. June 3, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  24. ↑ "The Macavity Awards 2012 Nominees". Book Reporter.com.
  25. ↑ Anthony Awards Winners and Nominees Archived February 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Bouchercon info
  26. ↑ Agatha Award nominees Archived January 21, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Malice Domestic.com.
  27. ↑ "Macavity Awards 2013". Book Reporter.com.
  28. ↑ "Louise Penny, Quebec crime writer, shortlisted for the Edgars". CBC News. January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014.

Further reading

  • Ledford-Miller, Linda. "The Dangers of Village Life: The Novels of Louise Penny". The Nashwaak Review 38–39 (January 2018): 297–313.
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