Michael Redhill

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

Early life and education

Redhill was born in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, and was raised in the metropolitan area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 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

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. 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 Inger Ash Wolfe, 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.

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. American reviewers suggested Margaret Atwood, and Farley Mowat. 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

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)

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

Awards

Building Jerusalem

Winner of the Dora Award, Best New Play, 2000

Winner of the Chalmers Award, 2001

Nominated for the Governor General's Award 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 Giller Prize, 2001

Nominated for the City of Toronto Book Award, 2002

Nominated for the Trillium Book Award, 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, 2017

Other awards

The League of Canadian Poets National Poetry Contest, first prize, 1988

Norma Epstein Award for poetry (University of Toronto), 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), 2006

Personal life

Redhill has two sons and lives in Toronto.

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