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Michael Redhill

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Michael Redhill
Redhill at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival
Redhill at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival
Pen nameInger Ash Wolfe
Children2

Michael Redhill (born 12 June 1966) is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.[1] He also writes under the pseudonym Inger Ash Wolfe.[2]

Early life and education

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Redhill was born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in the metropolitan Toronto, Ontario area.[3] He pursued one year of study at Indiana University, and then returned to Canada, completing his education at York University and the University of Toronto.

Career

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Redhill worked on the editorial board of Coach House Press from 1993 to 1996, and was the publisher of the Canadian literary magazine Brick from 2000 to 2009. In 2001 his novel Martin Sloane was shortlisted for the Giller Prize.[4] He won the Giller Prize in 2017 for his novel Bellevue Square.[5]

His newest poetry book, Twitch Force, was published in 2019.[6][7]

Work as Inger Ash Wolfe

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In 2012, Redhill revealed that he is also the author of novels published under the pen name Inger Ash Wolfe,[8] described by the publishers of Wolfe's 2008 mystery as a pseudonym 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.[9]

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, Michael Redhill, Jane Urquhart and David Adams Richards, among others.[10] American reviewers suggested Margaret Atwood, and Farley Mowat.[11] 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 as Hazel Micallef.

Publications

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Poetry

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  • 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

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  • Martin Sloane (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2001)
  • Fidelity (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2003)
  • Consolation (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2006)[12]
  • Bellevue Square (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2017)

Fiction as Inger Ash Wolfe

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  • 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

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

Anthologies

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  • 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 and Linda Spalding) ISBN 0-676-97299-3

Awards

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Building Jerusalem

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Martin Sloane

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Consolation

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Bellevue Square

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Other awards

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Personal life

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Redhill has two sons and lives in Toronto.[13]

He had CA$411.46 left in his bank account when he cashed the CA$100,000 Giller Prize cheque for Bellevue Square.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Michael Redhill at The Canadian Encyclopedia
  2. ^ "Michael Redhill Wins 2017 Giller Prize". Canadian Press, 11/20/2017. Victoria Ahearn
  3. ^ "Giller Prize winner Michael Redhill on literature and living in Toronto". The Globe and Mail, December 3, 2017
  4. ^ "Giller prize will help author Michael Redhill make ends meet". Toronto Star, Deborah Dundas, Nov. 20, 2017
  5. ^ Ahearn, Victoria (November 20, 2017). "Michael Redhill wins Scotiabank Giller Prize". CTV News.
  6. ^ "20 works of Canadian poetry to check out in spring 2019". CBC Books, January 25, 2019.
  7. ^ "Twitch Force by Michael Redhill". Quill & Quire, April, 2019.
  8. ^ Michael Redhill, "The real Inger Ash Wolfe stands up". The Globe and Mail, July 27, 2012.
  9. ^ Sarah Weinman, "Inger Ash Wolfe Responds", February 6, 2008
  10. ^ This list comes from a review by Mary Jo Anderson in The Nova Scotian: "Who is Mystery Writer: Speculation Abounds on ID of 'Inger Ash Wolfe", May 25, 2008. See also: Vit Wagner, "Book mystery: Who is Inger Ash Wolfe?: Speculation about identity of crime novel's pseudonymous author creates buzz for forthcoming book", February 17, 2008, Toronto Star.
  11. ^ Michael Sims, "'The Calling' by Inger Ash Wolfe: A woman detective must unmask and stop a vicious serial killer in rural Canada", LA Times Book Review, May 5, 2008.
  12. ^ "'All art is failed art.' Michael Redhill on being comfortable with failure". CBC News, Ryan B. Patrick · November 20, 2017
  13. ^ a b Doherty, Brennan (November 23, 2017). "Michael Redhill had $411 in the bank before depositing $100,000 Giller Prize cheque". Toronto Star.
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