Writer Michael Redhill

Michael Redhill

What a year it’s been for Michael Redhill! A celebrated poet, playwright and novelist with numerous awards and honours already under his belt, Redhill continued his winning streak in 2007 garnering a City of Toronto Book Award for his second novel Consolation (published by Doubleday Canada).

That same book was also named one of 13 titles long-listed for the prestigious 2007 Man Booker Prize. Consolation chronicles an archivist who discovers a series of early photographic plates bearing depictions of Toronto. This complex story unfolds from a contemporary perspective while exploring a narrative rooted in Toronto’s mid-19th century history.

Evocative and layered, Consolation’s plot interveaves themes of mystery, love and memory.

The Globe and Mail says, “Consolation’s elegance, like Redhill’s many descriptions of old Toronto, is in its architecture, as it moves easily through two interrelated stories. . . . Redhill shows himself a masterful researcher and compiler of details — exactly the kind of writer you need to tell a story of yesterday.”

Michael Redhill was born in Baltimore and raised in Toronto. He studied at Indiana University, York University and University of Toronto. Redhill was on member of the Coach House Press editorial board and is currently publisher and editor of the Canadian literary magazine Brick.

Previous works of fiction include the novel Martin Sloane (Doubleday Canada), a finalist for the 2001 Giller Prize and Fidelity (Doubleday Canada), a collection of short stories.

He is author of several poetry collections including Impromptu Feats of Balance (Wolsak and Wynn), Lake Nora Arms (Coach House Press), Asphodel (McClelland and Stewart) and Light-Crossing (House of Anansi). His recent works for theatre include Goodness (Coach House Press) and Building Jerusalem (Playwrights Union Canada), for which he won a Dora Award.

He currently resides in France.

Redhill was recipient of a 2004 Toronto Arts Council grant in the Grants to Writers program for Consolation.

William Huffman - Associate Director
Toronto Arts Council/Foundation

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