Michael Winter: from Newfoundland to the Somme

Michael Winter has been described as a hip Toronto novelist, and also as one of the astonishingly gifted writers who have put Newfoundland on the literary map. His latest book, Into the Blizzard, sets out to retrace the steps of the Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War. Minister Without Portfolio, Winter's most recent novel, was a finalist in the televised battle of the books competition, Canada Reads. He has published five novels in total, as well as two collections of stories. He has won the CBC short story contest and the Writers Trust Notable Author award, and been twice nominated for the Giller Prize.

Michael is visiting Glasgow on his way to Ullapool, where he will be among the guests at the Book Festival. This reading and discussion is sponsored by the Canada-UK Foundation and the University of Strathclyde.

“His lyrical writing and attention to detail are at their peak . . . [with] powerful imagery and detailed portraits of fragile human beings. As much as Winter may decry the war itself, he is ferociously proud of those who 'faced the blizzard of machine-gun fire with their chins tucked into an advanced shoulder.' Winter asks us never to lose sight of their lives, no matter how short or apparently inconsequential." Quill and Quire on Into the Blizzard