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

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, writer of mystery novels and educator.

Biography

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Bowen was educated at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, 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 university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

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

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

. She subsequently taught English in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, 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, ...

before retiring from teaching. She currently lives in Regina,

. Bowen's mystery novels feature Joanne Kilbourn, 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, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

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 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 t ...

) 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) * What’s Past is Prologue (2022) * The Legacy (2023)

Plays

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

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'' (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 Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

portrayed Captain Hook in a 2000 production also with composer/actor Derek Aasland 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 Novelists from Toronto Canadian 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