Michael Winter (born 1965) is a Canadian writer, the author of five novels and three collections of short stories.

Life and career

Michael Winter was born in 1965 in

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. His father was an industrial arts teacher, who moved the family to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, Canada three years later, eventually settling in

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

. After high school, Winter attended

Memorial University Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and i ...

, graduating in 1986 with a BA in economic geography.Smith, S. (2007, July). Change is Good. ''Quill & Quire'' Winter's first short story collection, ''Creaking in Their Skins'', was published in 1994. In 1999, editor John Metcalf at

The Porcupine's Quill The Porcupine's Quill is an independent publishing company in Erin, Ontario, Canada. The Porcupine's Quill publishes contemporary Canadian literature, including poetry, fiction, art and literary criticism. It is owned and operated by Tim and Elke ...

published his second book of stories, ''One Last Good Look''. Winter moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

in 1999, where he published his first two novels: ''This All Happened'' (2000) and ''The Big Why'' (2004). Much of Winter's fiction chronicles the life and adventures of his fictional alter ego, Gabriel English. ''This All Happened'', for example, is organized as a fictional diary, with 365 entries describing Gabriel's life in St. John's, his relationship with filmmaker Lydia Murphy, and the progress of the novel he is trying to write.Canadian Encyclopedia
/ref> The book was nominated for the 2000

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers. ...

and won the inaugural

Winterset Award The Winterset Award is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council to a work judged to be the best book, regardless of genre, published by a writer from Newfoundland and Labrador.

. ''The Big Why'' was a historical novel narrated by real-life American artist

Rockwell Kent Rockwell Kent (June 21, 1882 – March 13, 1971) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, adventurer and voyager. Biography Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York. Kent was of English descent. He lived much of ...

describing the time he spent in

Brigus Brigus is a small fishing community located in Conception Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Brigus was home to Captain Bob Bartlett and the location of his residence Hawthorne Cottage.Canada travel guide. Lonely Planet 14th Edition (2020). ...

, in 1914. Kent was eventually deported from Newfoundland on suspicion of being a German spy. Winter was one of the judges of the 2006

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), 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 competition ...

, and his line drawings illustrate

Noah Richler Noah Richler is a Canadian author, journalist, and broadcaster who was raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and London, England. He is the son of Canadian novelist Mordecai Richler. Richler worked for many years as a radio documentary producer for ...

's ''This is My Country, What's Yours? A Literary Atlas of Canada'' (2006). He serialized short teasers for each chapter of his third novel, ''The Architects are Here'' (2007), on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

. ''The Death of Donna Whalen'' (2010), his fourth novel, is described by the author as "documentary fiction".Coady, L. (2010, Sept 17). The drama of real life ... and death. ''Globe and Mail''.
/ref> It uses court documents, transcripts and other material to tell the story of Donna Whalen, a St. John's woman stabbed to death, possibly by her boyfriend Sheldon Troke. The book is based on the 1993 murder of Brenda Young. He divides his time between Toronto and Newfoundland, and is the brother of novelist

Kathleen Winter Kathleen Winter (born 1960) is an English-Canadian short story writer and novelist.

Lynn Coady Lynn Coady (born January 24, 1970)Lynn Coady
at

Prizes and honours

*2000 Nominee,

(for ''This All Happened'') *2000

(for ''This All Happened'') *2004 Short list,

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

(for ''The Big Why'') *2004 Short list,

Thomas Head Raddall Award The Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award is a Canadian literary award administered by the Atlantic Book Awards & Festival for the best work of adult fiction published in the previous year by a writer from the Atlantic provinces.

(for ''The Big Why'') *2004 Long list, IMPAC Literary Award (for ''The Big Why'') *2007 Long list,

(for ''The Architects are Here'') *2008 Writers' Trust Notable Author Award *2010 Shortlist,

(for ''The Death of Donna Whalen'') *2013 Longlist,

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), 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 competition ...

(for ''Minister Without Portfolio'')

Bibliography

Short fiction

*''Creaking in Their Skins'' (1994) *''One Last Good Look'' (1999) *'' The Sparky Book''

Novels

*''This All Happened'' (2000) *''The Big Why'' (2004) *''The Architects Are Here'' (2007) *''The Death of Donna Whalen'' (2010) *''Minister Without Portfolio'' (2013)

Non-fiction

*''Into the Blizzard: Walking the Fields of the Newfoundland Dead'' (2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter, Michael Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers Writers from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Writers from Toronto Living people 1965 births People from Corner Brook 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers