Janine Armin: Toronto Noir

Janine Arminwrites regularly for the Globe and Mail and contributes to Bookforum and the Village Voice.

Heather Birrellis the author of I know you are but what am I? (2004). Her stories have been short-listed for Canada’s Western and National Magazine awards. “BriannaSusannaAlana” won the Writers’ Trust of Canada/McClelland & Stewart 2006 Journey Prize. Birrell also works as a high school teacher and creative writing instructor, doing all of this — barely — in Toronto’s West End, where she lives with her husband, Charles Checketts.

Gail Bowenlearned to read from tombstones in Toronto’s Prospect Cemetery. Her books include A Colder Kind of Death , winner of a Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award, A Killing Spring, and a series that includes The Endless Knot , the eleventh novel of which, The Brutal Heart , will be published in 2008.

George Elliott Clarke’sfirst novel is George & Rue (2005), an award-winning, critically acclaimed, true-crime story. His second novel, now in progress, is The Motorcyclist, a comedy of manners. “Numbskulls” was written in Banff, Alberta; Toronto, Ontario; and St. Petersburg, Russia (May — June, 2007).

Raywat Deonandanis a scientist, author, journalist, and professor. His stories have been published in seven countries and in six languages. He is the author of two critically acclaimed books of fiction, Divine Elemental (2003) and Sweet Like Saltwater (1999), which won the Guyana Prize for Best First Book. Ever indecisive, he divides his time between Toronto and Ottawa.

Sean Dixonis the author of The Girls Who Saw Everything (2007), a novel about the last days of the Lacuna Cabal Montreal Young Women’s Book Club. He is also the author of several plays and a YA novel, The Feathered Cloak (2007). He lives and plays banjo in Toronto.

Ibi Kaslikis a novelist and writes for North American magazines and newspapers. Her debut novel, Skinny (2006), has been translated into several languages and nominated for the Borders Original Voices Award and the Books in Canada Best First Novel Award. She currently lives in Toronto and her second novel, The Angel Riots, is forthcoming in 2008.

Pasha Malla’sfirst book, a collection of stories, will be published by House of Anansi in 2008. He lives in the east end of Toronto, across the street from a prison.

Nathaniel G. Mooreis the author of Bowlbrawl and Let’s Pretend We Never Met . He is the features editor of the Danforth Review and a columnist for Broken Pencil. He divides his time between Montreal and Toronto.

Kim Moritsuguwas born and raised in Toronto, and has written four novels set in the city: Looks Perfect (short-listed for the Toronto Book Award), Old Flames, The Glenwood Treasure (short-listed for a Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award), and The Restoration of Emily (serialized on CBC Radio’s Between the Covers) . She leads walking tours for Heritage Toronto, and teaches creative writing at the Humber School for Writers.

Christine Murrayis a Toronto ex-pat who lives and works in London, England. She writes regularly for a number of Canadian and British publications, and is the editorial director of Ukula magazine and reviews editor of the Architects’ Journal . She is currently working on her first novel, an unlikely love story based in Toronto and London.

Andrew Pyperis the author, most recently, of The Killing Circle. His previous three novels are The Wildfire Season, The Trade Mission, and Lost Girls. He is a winner of a Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award, and his novels have been selected as Best Books of the Year by the Globe and Mail , the Evening Standard (U.K.), and the New York Times . He lives on Queen West, around the corner from a sign that reads, Hobos! Please Don’t Poo Here!

Michael Redhillis the author of five collections of poetry, four plays, and three works of fiction, the latest of which, Consolation, was long-listed for the 2007 Man Booker Prize and won the 2007 Toronto Book Award. He divides his time between Canada and France.

Peter Robinsonis the author of seventeen Inspector Banks novels, most recently Friend of the Devil , two non-series novels, and the short story collection, Not Safe After Dark. He has won numerous awards, including an Edgar, a Dagger in the Library, a Swedish Martin Beck Award, a French Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and five Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Awards. He recently edited The Penguin Book of Crime Stories and he lives in Toronto.

Emily Schultzis the author of several books, including the poetry collection Songs for the Dancing Chicken and Joyland: A Novel. Her new novel, Heaven Is Small, is forthcoming from House of Anansi Press. She has lived in Toronto’s Parkdale for seven years and is not sure where she will do her laundry once the next condo tower goes up replacing her beloved Super Coin.