Howard Shrier was born and raised in Montreal, where he earned a degree in journalism and creative writing at Concordia University. He has since worked in journalism, theatre, television, sketch comedy and improv, teaching and corporate and government communications.
His acclaimed first novel, Buffalo Jump, which introduces Toronto investigator Jonah Geller, won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel of 2008. The sequel, High Chicago, won Best Novel of 2009, making Howard the only author ever to win these awards in consecutive years.
The third Geller novel, Boston Cream, received starred reviews in both Publisher’s Weekly and Library Journal, as well as a rare five-star review in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (“Shrier is my top find of 2012.”). The fourth, Miss Montreal, was shortlisted for another Arthur and a Bony Blithe Award for best humorous mystery. All the Geller books were originally published by Random House/Vintage Canada in trade paperback and are now available in print and digital formats here.
Howard’s newest novel, The American Zone (2025), takes readers behind the scenes of construction of the Panama Canal in 1906, the deadliest year of the American effort. It blends real figures like President Teddy Roosevelt and chief engineer John Frank Stevens with a compelling cast of fictional characters and exposes the dangers that lurked in every corner of Panama, as well as the exploitation of Black workers from the West Indies, who died by the thousands to make an American dream come true.
He is also the author of one standalone thriller, Lostport (2011); Milk Teeth, a story set in the gritty world of Montreal in 1950, published in Akashic Books 2017 anthology Montreal Noir and hailed by critics as an outstanding selection; and When it was Cold, a collection of crime stories (2021). His story Done with Him won the Toronto Star’s Short Story Contest in 2021, enabling him to work on The American Zone with editor Trevor Cole.
Howard now lives in Toronto where he writes, teaches and works with promising writers. He has taught creative writing at University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies; was writer-in-residence at the North York branch of the Toronto Public Library in 2022; ran a Book Camp for authors in 2023; and was a member of the faculty of the 20th Anniversary of the San Miguel Writers Conference and Literary Festival in 2025. For information on how to work with Howard on your manuscript, click here.
