Louise Penny is a Canadian

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reas ...

s set in the Canadian province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

centred on the work of

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is the main character in a series of Mystery fiction, mystery novels written by Canadian author Louise Penny. The series is set around the life of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Sûreté du Québec, the Law enfor ...

of the

Sûreté du Québec The (SQ; , ) is the provincial police service for the Canadian province of Quebec. No official English name exists, but the agency's name is sometimes translated to 'Quebec Provincial Police' or QPP in English-language sources. The headquarters ...

. Penny's first career was as a radio broadcaster for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

(CBC). After she turned to writing, she won numerous awards for her work, including the

Agatha Award The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no expli ...

for best mystery novel of the year five times, including four consecutive years (2007–2010), and the

Anthony Award The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Among the m ...

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 CBC

Penny was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1958. Her mother was an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction, with a particular liking for crime fiction, and Louise grew up reading mystery writers such as

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...

, and

Michael Innes John Innes Mackintosh Stewart (30 September 1906 – 12 November 1994) was a Scottish novelist and academic. He is equally well known for the works of literary criticism and contemporary novels published under his real name and for the cri ...

. Penny earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Radio and Television) from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

) in 1979. After graduation, aged 21, she embarked on an 18-year career as a radio host and journalist with the

(CBC).

Literary career

Penny left the CBC in 1996 to take up writing. She started a historical novel but had difficulty finishing it, and eventually switched to mystery writing. She entered her first novel, ''Still Life'', in the "Debut Dagger" competition in the United Kingdom, placing second out of 800 entries. The novel won other awards, including the "New Blood"

Dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

award in the United Kingdom, the

Arthur Ellis Award The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, are a group of Canadians, Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and Mystery fiction, mys ...

in Canada for best first crime novel, the

Dilys Award The Dilys Award was presented every year from 1992 to 2014 by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. It was given to the mystery title of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. The Independent Mystery Booksellers ...

, the

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. Her work features Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of the homicide department of the

. The novels are set in the province of

but feature many hallmarks of the British

whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the cl ...

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

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. Shortly afterwards, she met her future husband, Michael Whitehead, head of

hematology Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...

Montreal Children's Hospital Montreal Children's Hospital (french: Hôpital de Montréal pour enfants) is a children's hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1904, it is affiliated with the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University, Faculty of M ...

, on a

blind date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...

. Michael died on September 18, 2016. Penny currently lives in Knowlton, a small village in Quebec's

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummondv ...

about 100 km from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec.

Honours

In 2013, she was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

"for her contributions to Canadian culture as an author shining a spotlight on the Eastern Townships of Quebec". In 2017 she was made a Member of the

Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gov ...

Movie adaptations

For several years, Penny resisted selling the TV or movie rights to her books, afraid of losing creative control of her characters. 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. ''Still Life'' went into production in the fall of 2012, with British actor

Nathaniel Parker Nathaniel Parker (born 18 May 1962) is an English stage and screen actor best known for playing the lead in the BBC crime drama series ''The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'', and Agravaine de Bois in the fourth series of '' Merlin''. Early life N ...

cast as Chief Inspector Gamache. The movie aired on CBC TV in 2013. In September 2021, production of ''Three Pines'' began in Montreal and rural Quebec, starring

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...

Works

Inspector Gamache series

* ''

Still Life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

'' (2005) – Winner of the

New Blood Dagger __NOTOC__ The CWA New Blood Dagger is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association (CWA) for first books by previously unpublished writers. It is given in memory of CWA founder John Creasey and was previously known as The John Cre ...

award, the

, the

, the 2007 Anthony Award, and the Barry Award * ''

A Fatal Grace ''A Fatal Grace'', by Louise Penny, published in Canada as ''Dead Cold'', is the second novel in the Three Pines Mysteries series, which feature Inspector Armand Gamache. Plot summary Inspector Gamache investigates after CC de Poitiers, a sadis ...

'' (Alternate title: ''Dead Cold'') (2007) – Winner of the 2007

* ''

The Cruelest Month ''The Cruelest Month'', by Louise Penny, is the third novel in the ''Three Pines Mysteries'' series, which feature Inspector Armand Gamache. In December 2022, the novel was adapted to streaming television at Amazon Prime Video as the two-part sec ...

'' (2008) – Winner of the 2008

; nominated for the 2009 Anthony, the 2008

Macavity Award The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' ...

, and the 2008 Barry Award * ''The Murder Stone'' (''A Rule Against Murder'' in U.S.) (2009) – Nominated for an

* ''

The Brutal Telling ''The Brutal Telling'' is a novel written by Louise Penny, part of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. It was published by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press owned by Macmillan Publishers. The book was published on 22 Sept ...

'' (2009) – Winner of the 2009

, and the 2010 Anthony Award * ''

Bury Your Dead Bury Your Dead is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2001. The current lineup is guitarist Chris Towning, lead vocalist Mat Bruso, drummer Mark Castillo, and bassist Aaron Patrick. To date, they have had eight rele ...

'' (2010) – Winner of the 2010

, the 2011 Anthony Award, the 2011

, the 2011

, and the 2011

Nero Award The Nero Award is a literary award for excellence in the mystery genre presented by The Wolfe Pack, a society founded in 1978 to explore and celebrate the Nero Wolfe stories of Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, ...

* '' A Trick of the Light'' (2011) – Nominated for a

Macavity Macavity the Mystery Cat, also called the Hidden Paw, is a fictional character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. He also appears in the Andrew Lloyd Webber 1981 musical ''Cats'', which is based on Elio ...

, an

, and an

* ''The Hangman'' (2011) – A novella in the Inspector Gamache series, written at a third grade level for emerging adult readers. * ''The Beautiful Mystery'' (2012) – Winner of the 2013

for Best Mystery * ''How the Light Gets In'' (2013) – Nominated for an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

and an

* ''The Long Way Home'' (2014) – Inspector Gamache's friend Clara enlists him to find her missing husband, Peter. * ''The Nature of the Beast'' (2015) – Quebec ballistics scientist and international artillery expert

Gerald Bull Gerald Vincent Bull (March 9, 1928 – March 22, 1990) was a Canadian engineer who developed long-range artillery. He moved from project to project in his quest to economically launch a satellite using a huge artillery piece, to which end he des ...

's assassination and his supergun are central plot elements. * ''A Great Reckoning'' (2016) – A map found in the walls of the local Three Pines bistro leads Gamache to shattering secrets on his new job as the superintendent of the Surete Academy. * ''Glass Houses'' (2017) – A dark figure appears in Three Pines and leads Gamache to an old wives tale and murder. * ''Kingdom of the Blind'' (2018) – Gamache, Myrna and a young builder are named executors of a will for a woman none of them has ever met. *''A Better Man'' (2019) * ''All the Devils Are Here'' (2020) -- set in Paris. * ''The Madness of Crowds'' (2021) * ''A World of Curiosities'' (2022)

Other works

* '' State of Terror'' (2021), co-written with

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

References

* Ledford-Miller, Linda. "The Dangers of Village Life: The Novels of Louise Penny". ''The Nashwaak Review'

38–39 (January 2018): 297–313.

External links

Official WebsiteSt. Martin's Author Profile
* Feature in SHOTS Crime & Thriller Ezin
"Louise Penny Tells All"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Penny, Louise 1958 births Agatha Award winners Living people Canadian women novelists Canadian mystery writers Canadian crime fiction writers Writers from Toronto Nero Award winners Anthony Award winners Macavity Award winners Barry Award winners Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Dilys Award winners Women mystery writers Members of the Order of Canada