Louise Penny bestowed the Order of Quebec
On Thursday, June 22 TBL’S beloved friend and author of the wildly popular Detective Gamache mystery series, Louise Penny was among 33 other people bestowed the Order of Quebec by Premier Philippe Couillard. The ceremony was held in the Legislative Council Chamber of the Quebec’s National Assembly in Quebec City.
The official nomination for this prestigious award was crafted in autumn 2016 by Consul General for Quebec in New York, Jean-claude Lauzon and strongly supported by Louise Loiselle of Flammarion Publishing Quebec, and writer M. Michel Tremblay. It is the Council of the “Ordre national du Québec” that recommends to the premier the appointments of the year, which is then a formalized by government decree before presentation of the insignia each June.
In a general statement for all those receiving Premier Couillard stated that, “Today, the Ordre national du Québec welcomes people with exceptional backgrounds and infinite merit. Dear new members, this badge you receive is much more than a prestigious title. It symbolizes the recognition and honour that the people of Quebec bear towards you. Through your talent, know-how and unlimited determination, you are helping to make Quebec an innovative, prosperous, talented, and open society. For that, in the name of our fellow citizens, I say thank you.”
The great success of Penny’s detective novels has made her one of the most awarded Canadian writers in the country, and even abroad, with her work
translated into 25 languages. Couillard says that for this reason, “Mrs. Penny is the pride of the Estrie and all of Quebec.”
It’s been a busy year for Penny as she rakes in more accolades and prestigious honours. Receiving the Order of Quebec falls on the heels of being decorated with the Order of Canada in February 2017 and several other awards for her books — all while she completes her 13th book in the Gamache series.
She is has become inadvertently an ambassador for the Eastern Townships through her popular character-driven mysteries that have made her Three Pines Friendly town a destination spot for those curious to get to know the location that she bases her stories on. Her writing has become an important window for the world to get a taste of this unique area that she has adopted as her home while it feeds the imagination of future writers as well. This, after an 18-year career with CBC as a journalist and radio host.
Unlike many writers, Penny does not remain cloistered in her own thoughts. She is tenderly candid and open about her own personal struggles over the years while injecting loads of humour with the hopes to help others who have been there. She strongly supports literacy programs and her local Knowlton Literary Association, and is game to jump in to help local community projects that she sees relevant. She is readying to launch her next book, “Glass Houses,” in August under the tent at Coldbrook Park by Blackwood Dam in Knowlton.
Responding to how she feels about this most recent honour, Penny says, “I am so very proud to be made an officer of the Order of Quebec. I wasn’t born in Quebec, I’m here because I choose to be, because I see how beautiful it is, as a territory and as friends and neighbours. It is chez moi. And so this honour touches me profoundly.”