Gail Dianne Bowen ( Bartholomew; born September 22, 1942) is a Canadian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, writer of

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

novels and educator.

Biography

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Bowen was educated at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1964. She then studied at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

, where she received a master's degree in 1975, and the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. She subsequently taught English in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, and was associate professor of English at

First Nations University of Canada The First Nations University of Canada (abbreviated as FNUniv) is a post-secondary institution and federated college of the University of Regina, based in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. FNUniv operates three campuses within the province, i ...

before retiring from teaching. She currently lives in Regina,

. Bowen's mystery novels feature

Joanne Kilbourn Joanne Kilbourn is a fictional Canadian detective, who appears in mystery novels by Gail Bowen. Overview In ''Deadly Appearances'', the first Kilbourn novel, she is a political strategist and advisor to Andy Boychuk, a politician who is murdered ...

, a widowed mother, political analyst and university professor who finds herself occasionally involved in criminal investigations in various parts of Saskatchewan. Many have been adapted as Canadian

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s by

Shaftesbury Films Shaftesbury Films is a film, television and digital media production company founded by Christina Jennings in 1987. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background Shaftesbury is a creator and producer of original content for television and ...

. Several of her plays have been produced, including ''Dancing in Poppies'', an adaptation of ''Beauty and the Beast'', ''The Tree'' and an adaptation of ''Peter Pan'', all premiering at the Globe Theatre in Regina. Her radio play ''Dr. Dolittle'' was broadcast on CBC Radio in 2006. She wrote ''The World According to Charlie D.'', a radio play focusing on the radio talk show host from her Joanne Kilbourn mysteries, broadcast on CBC Radio in 2007. A follow-up episode about Charlie D. aired in August 2008 as part of the WorldPlay series, airing on public radio networks in six English-speaking countries. In 2010, the first of a series of mystery novellas about Charlie D. was published. Bowen was selected as the writer-in-residence for the Regina Public Library from September 2013 to May 2014. She has previously served as writer in residence at the Toronto Reference Library (2009) and Calgary's Memorial Park Library (2010).

Bibliography

Novels

* ''1919: The Love Letters of George and Adelaide'' (1986) Western Producer Prairie Books * ''Love You to Death'' (2010) Orca Book Publishers - Rapid Reads * ''One Fine Day You're Gonna Die'' (2010) Orca Book Publishers - Rapid Reads * ''The Shadow Killer'' (2011) Orca Book Publishers - Rapid Reads * ''The Thirteenth Rose'' (2013) Orca Book Publishers - Rapid Reads

Joanne Kilbourn Joanne Kilbourn is a fictional Canadian detective, who appears in mystery novels by Gail Bowen. Overview In ''Deadly Appearances'', the first Kilbourn novel, she is a political strategist and advisor to Andy Boychuk, a politician who is murdered ...
novels

* ''Deadly Appearances'' (1990) Douglas & McIntyre * ''Murder at the Mendel'' (1991, published in the US as ''Love and murder'') Douglas & McIntyre * ''The Wandering Soul Murders'' (1992) Douglas & McIntyre * ''A Colder Kind of Death'' (1994, winner of the

Arthur Ellis Award The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, are a group of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and mystery writing published in th ...

) McClelland & Stewart * ''A Killing Spring'' (1996) McClelland & Stewart * ''Verdict in Blood'' (1998) McClelland & Stewart * ''Burying Ariel'' (2000) McClelland & Stewart * ''The Glass Coffin'' (2002) McClelland & Stewart * ''The Last Good Day'' (2004) McClelland & Stewart * ''The White Bear'' (2005) McClelland & Stewart * ''The Endless Knot'' (2006) McClelland & Stewart * ''The Brutal Heart'' (2008) McClelland & Stewart *''The Nesting Dolls'' (2010) McClelland & Stewart * ''Kaleidoscope'' (2012) McClelland & Stewart * ''The Gifted'' (2013) McLelland & Stewart * ''12 Rose Street'' (2015) McClelland & Stewart * ''What's Left Behind'' (2016) McClelland & Stewart * ''The Winner's Circle'' (2017) McClelland & Stewart * ''A Darkness of the Heart'' (2018) McClelland & Stewart * ''The Unlocking Season'' (2020) ECW Press * ''An Image in the Lake'' (2021)

Plays

* ''Dancing in Poppies'' (1993) * ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1993) * ''The Tree'' (1994) * ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

'' (1998 adaptation) Canadian singer/songwriter

Fred Penner Frederick Ralph Cornelius Penner (born November 6, 1946) is a Canadian children's entertainer and musician known for the song " The Cat Came Back" and his television series, ''Fred Penner's Place'', which aired on CBC in Canada from 1985 to 199 ...

portrayed Captain Hook in a 2000 production also with composer/actor

Derek Aasland Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of ''Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler". Common variants of the name are ...

as Peter Pan.

References

External links

Gail Bowen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Gail 1942 births Living people Canadian mystery writers Canadian women novelists Canadian women dramatists and playwrights University of Saskatchewan alumni University of Toronto alumni University of Waterloo alumni Writers from Regina, Saskatchewan Writers from Toronto Women mystery writers 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian crime fiction writers