Winnipeg novelist Van Rooy dies suddenly
Last Updated: Friday, January 28, 2011 | 8:16 AM ET
CBC News
Michael Neelak Van Rooy died Thursday in Montreal. (Turnstone Press)An acclaimed Winnipeg writer died suddenly on Thursday while on a book tour to promote his latest crime novel.
Author Michael Neelak Van Rooy suffered an apparent heart attack while away from the city promoting A Criminal to Remember, his latest book. He was 42.
In 2009 Van Rooy received the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer, according to an online biography. He was also shortlisted for both the Margaret Laurence for Fiction and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. His other books are An Ordinary Decent Criminal and Your Friendly Neighbourhood Criminal.
He was due to give a reading at a Chapters-Indigo store on Ste-Catherine Street West in Montreal Thursday afternoon.
Kelly Hughes, who owns Aqua Books in downtown Winnipeg, said Van Rooy was a "gentle giant" who was also accommodating and soft-spoken.
Hughes said he hadn't heard of Van Rooy having health issues.
Van Rooy leaves behind his wife and three children.
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