Michael Redhill (born 12 June 1966) is an American-born Canadian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

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 ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

.Michael Redhill
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

He also writes under the pseudonym Inger Ash Wolfe.

Early life and education

Redhill was born in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and raised in the metropolitan

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 ...

area. He pursued one year of study at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, and then returned to Canada, completing his education at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

and 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 ...

Career

Redhill worked on the editorial board of

Coach House Press Coach House Books is an independent book publishing company located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Coach House publishes experimental poetry, fiction, drama and non-fiction. The press is particularly interested in writing that pushes at the boundar ...

from 1993 to 1996, and was the publisher of the Canadian literary magazine ''

Brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

'' from 2000 to 2009. In 2001 his novel '' Martin Sloane'' was shortlisted for the

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried co ...

. He won the Giller Prize in 2017 for his novel '' Bellevue Square''. His newest poetry book, ''Twitch Force'', was published in 2019.

Work as Inger Ash Wolfe

In 2012, Redhill revealed that he is also the author of novels published under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Inger Ash Wolfe, described by the publishers of Wolfe's 2008 mystery as a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

for a "well-known and well-regarded North American literary novelist". The pseudonym was originally to be Inger Wolf until it was recognized that a Danish crime writer already uses that

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

. As Wolfe, Redhill published his first mystery novel ''The Calling'' in 2008, released simultaneously in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. While the book received good reviews, speculation as to the author's real identity played a large role in many of them. Canadian reviewers suggested

Linda Spalding Linda Spalding (née Dickinson; June 25, 1943) is a Canadian writer and editor. Born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Jacob Alan Dickinson and Edith Senner, she lived in Mexico and Hawaii before moving to Toronto Toronto ( , locally p ...

, Michael Redhill, Jane Urquhart and

David Adams Richards David Adams Richards (born 17 October 1950) is a Canadian writer and member of the Senate of Canada, Canadian Senate.Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

, and

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Ca ...

. The second novel by Wolfe, ''The Taken,'' was published in 2010. The third, ''A Door in the River,'' was published in 2012. Each of the books features series detective Hazel Micallef. The fourth novel in the series, ''The Night Bell'', was published in 2015. In August 2014, a film version of ''The Calling'' was released, starring

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

as Hazel Micallef.

Publications

Poetry

* ''Music for Silence'' (self-published, 1985) * ''Temporary Captives'' (privately published, 1989) * ''Impromptu Feats of Balance'' (Don Mills, ON: Wolsak and Wynn, 1990) * ''Lake Nora Arms'' (Toronto: Coach House, 1993; reissued by House of Anansi, 2001) * ''Asphodel'' (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1997) * ''Light-Crossing'' (Toronto: House of Anansi, 2001) * ''Twitch Force'' (Toronto: House of Anansi, 2019)

Fiction

* '' Martin Sloane'' (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2001) * ''Fidelity'' (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2003) * ''Consolation'' (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2006)"'All art is failed art.' Michael Redhill on being comfortable with failure"
''CBC News'', Ryan B. Patrick · November 20, 2017 * '' Bellevue Square'' (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2017)

Fiction as Inger Ash Wolfe

* ''The Calling'' (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2008) * ''The Taken'' (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2010) * ''A Door in the River'' (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2012) * ''The Night Bell'' (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2015)

Drama

* ''Heretics'' (privately published, 1993) * ''Building Jerusalem'' (Toronto: Playwrights Union Canada, 2001) * ''Goodness'' (Toronto: Coach House, 2005)

Anthologies

* ''Discord of Flags'' (privately published, 1992) (co-editor) * ''Blues and True Conclusions'' (Toronto: House of Anansi, 1996) * ''Lost Classics'' (Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2000) (edited with Esta Spalding,

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...

and

)

Awards

Building Jerusalem

*Winner of the

Dora Award The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, Dance in Canada, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after ...

, Best New Play, 2000 *Winner of the Chalmers Award, 2001 *Nominated for the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for Drama, 2001

Martin Sloane

*Winner of the Books in Canada First Novel Award, 2001 *Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Canadian-Caribbean Region), 2002 *Nominated for the

, 2001 *Nominated for the City of Toronto Book Award, 2002 *Nominated for the

Trillium Book Award The Trillium Book Award ( or ''Prix Trillium'') is an annual literary award presented to writers in Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Ontario Creates, a Crown agency (Ontario), Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, which is overseen by ...

, 2002 *Nominated for the Torgi/CNIB Award, 2002

Consolation

*Winner of the City of Toronto Book Award, 2007 *Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, 2007

Bellevue Square

*Won the

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...

, 2017

Other awards

*The League of Canadian Poets National Poetry Contest, first prize, 1988 *Norma Epstein Award for poetry (

), 1990 *The E.J. Pratt Prize for poetry (University of Toronto), 1991 *The Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award, for ''Goodness'', 2006 *Scotsman Fringe First Award, (

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

), 2006

Personal life

Redhill has two sons and lives in Toronto. He had left in his bank account when he cashed the Giller Prize cheque for '' Bellevue Square''.

References

External links

Brick, A Literary Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redhill, Michael 1966 births Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male poets Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers Dora Mavor Moore Award winners University of Toronto alumni Canadian mystery writers Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Amazon.ca First Novel Award winners