I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. The first one I wrote (and illustrated) was in grade four, but it never saw the light of day. Much later in my life, I found the courage to try and get my work published. Today, my fiction and non-fiction have been published in numerous anthologies and magazines across Canada and the US, including the Journey Prize anthology. I’m also the author of the short story collection, The Secret History of My Hometown, and the co-editor of Hidden Lives: Coming Out on Mental Illness, a ground-breaking anthology of evocative personal essays by writers who either suffer from or have close family members who have been diagnosed with a serious mental health or developmental disorder.

I’m passionate about helping disadvantaged children across the globe learn to read.  I’m vice-president and director of Books Over Borders, a Canadian children’s literacy charity.  We’ve helped ten of thousands of children in Afghanistan and Canada learn to read and welcomed thousands of refugees coming to Canada with new books of their own. I’m keen on the outdoors, whether hiking in the mountains or near the sea.