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Louise Penny

Louise Penny

Keynote Speaker: Canadian Journalist & Author of Mystery Novels

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Louise Penny Biography

Louise Penny is a Canadian author of mystery novels set in the Canadian province of Quebec centered on the work of Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec. Penny's first career was as a radio broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. After she turned to writing, she won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha Award for best mystery novel of the year for four consecutive years (2007–2010) and the Anthony Award for two novels. Her novels have been published in 23 languages.

Penny was born in Toronto in 1958. Her mother was an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction, with a particular liking for crime fiction, and Louise grew up reading mystery writers such as Agatha Christie, Georges Simenon, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Michael Innes.

Penny earned a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Radio and Television) from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Ryerson University) in 1979. After graduation, at age 21, she embarked on an 18-year career as a radio host and journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. At the start of her broadcasting career, Penny took postings at locations far from friends and family, and to help deal with feelings of loneliness and isolation, she increasingly turned to alcohol. At age 35, she admitted to an alcohol problem and has been sober since. Shortly afterward, she met her future husband, Michael Whitehead, head of hematology at Montreal Children's Hospital, on a blind date.

After her marriage, Penny left the CBC to take up writing. Although she started a historical novel, she had difficulty finishing it, and eventually switched to mystery writing. She entered her first novel, "Still Life," in the "Debut Dagger" competition in the United Kingdom, placing second out of 800 entries. The novel won other awards, including the "New Blood" Dagger award in the United Kingdom, the Arthur Ellis Award in Canada for best first crime novel, the Dilys Award, the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best First Novel in the United States.

Penny has published a further fifteen novels, garnering major crime novel award nominations for almost every one of her novels and subsequently winning several of those awards.

Her oeuvre features Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, head of the homicide department of the Sûreté du Québec. Although set in the province of Quebec, the novels feature many hallmarks of the British whodunit genre, including murders by unconventional means, bucolic villages, large casts of suspects, red herrings and a dramatic disclosure of the murderer in the last few pages of the book.

In 2009, Penny helped to launch a new award for aspiring Canadian mystery writers, the Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Novel.

In 2013, she was made a Member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to Canadian culture as an author shining a spotlight on the Eastern Townships of Quebec."

In 2013, "Still Life" was made into a movie for CBC TV with British actor Nathaniel Parker cast as Chief Inspector Gamache.

Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Louise Penny and other top speakers and celebrities.

Louise Penny Videos

Louise Penny, "A Better Man" - YouTube
Louise Penny: 2018 National Book Festival
Ann Cleeves and Louise Penny on writing, mystery, and friendship ...

How to book Louise Penny?

Our booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure talent like Louise Penny for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment for over 15 years. The team at All American Entertainment represents and listens to the needs of organizations and corporations seeking to hire keynote speakers, celebrities or entertainers. Fill out a booking request form for Louise Penny, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get pricing information and check availability for Louise Penny or any other celebrity of your choice.

How much does it cost to book Louise Penny?

Booking fees for Louise Penny, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. Pricing often varies according to the circumstances, including the talent's schedule, market conditions, length of presentation, and the location of the event. Speaker fees listed on this website are intended to serve as a guideline only. In some cases, the actual quote may be above or below the stated range. For the most current fee to hire Louise Penny, please fill out the booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak with an experienced booking agent.

Who is the agent for Louise Penny?

All American Entertainment has successfully secured celebrity talent like Louise Penny for clients worldwide for more than 15 years. As a full-service talent booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Fill out the booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Louise Penny for your next private or corporate function.

What is a full-service talent booking agency?

All American Speakers is a "buyers agent" and exclusively represents talent buyers, meeting planners and event professionals, who are looking to secure celebrities and speakers for personal appearances, speaking engagements, corporate entertainment, public relations campaigns, commercials, or endorsements. We do not exclusively represent Louise Penny or claim ourselves as the exclusive booking agency, business manager, publicist, speakers bureau or management for Louise Penny or any other speaker or celebrity on this website. For more information on how we work and what makes us unique, please read the AAE Advantage.


Louise Penny is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics including Authors, Women and Literary. The estimated speaking fee range to book Louise Penny for live events is $10,000 - $20,000. Please contact us for virtual event fees. Louise Penny generally travels from Montreal, Canada and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Jenny Han, Lois Lowry and Rainbow Rowell. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Louise Penny for an upcoming event.

Louise Penny Videos

Louise Penny, "A Better Man" - YouTube
Louise Penny: 2018 National Book Festival
Ann Cleeves and Louise Penny on writing, mystery, and friendship ...

Louise Penny News

How to book Louise Penny?

Our booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure talent like Louise Penny for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment for over 15 years. The team at All American Entertainment represents and listens to the needs of organizations and corporations seeking to hire keynote speakers, celebrities or entertainers. Fill out a booking request form for Louise Penny, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get pricing information and check availability for Louise Penny or any other celebrity of your choice.

How much does it cost to book Louise Penny?

Booking fees for Louise Penny, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. Pricing often varies according to the circumstances, including the talent's schedule, market conditions, length of presentation, and the location of the event. Speaker fees listed on this website are intended to serve as a guideline only. In some cases, the actual quote may be above or below the stated range. For the most current fee to hire Louise Penny, please fill out the booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak with an experienced booking agent.

Who is the agent for Louise Penny?

All American Entertainment has successfully secured celebrity talent like Louise Penny for clients worldwide for more than 15 years. As a full-service talent booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Fill out the booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Louise Penny for your next private or corporate function.

What is a full-service talent booking agency?

All American Speakers is a "buyers agent" and exclusively represents talent buyers, meeting planners and event professionals, who are looking to secure celebrities and speakers for personal appearances, speaking engagements, corporate entertainment, public relations campaigns, commercials, or endorsements. We do not exclusively represent Louise Penny or claim ourselves as the exclusive booking agency, business manager, publicist, speakers bureau or management for Louise Penny or any other speaker or celebrity on this website. For more information on how we work and what makes us unique, please read the AAE Advantage.


Louise Penny is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics including Authors, Women and Literary. The estimated speaking fee range to book Louise Penny for live events is $10,000 - $20,000. Please contact us for virtual event fees. Louise Penny generally travels from Montreal, Canada and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Jenny Han, Lois Lowry and Rainbow Rowell. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Louise Penny for an upcoming event.

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All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.