Michaels, Sean

Sean Michaels is a Montreal-based novelist and critic. His first novel, Us Conductors, was awarded the Scotiabank Giller Prize — Canada’s largest literary award. A former music columnist at the Globe & Mail, his work has also appeared with The Guardian, The Walrus, Pitchfork, McSweeney’s, Maisonneuve, Reader’s Digest, The Observer and Rolling Stone, garnering two National Magazine Awards.

In addition to this traditional publishing history, Sean was the founder of the pioneering mp3blog Said the Gramophone, described by Time magazine as one of the best blogs in the world. He has also done writing for musical artists like Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Leif Vollebekk and Young Galaxy, and in 2016 collaborated on “The Seers Catalogue”, a digital “choose-your-own-adventure” interactive fiction project incorporating original illustrations and music.

Sean’s teaching experience includes semester-long creative writing courses at McGill University and Colorado College, and one-off workshops with Ink Movement Montreal and the Atwater Writers Exhibition. He has served as a writing mentor with Emploi Québec’s Jeunes volontaires program and spoken about writing at more than a dozen high-schools and CEGEPs throughout Canada.

“I love talking to students about making and thinking about creativity: whether it’s workshopping their short stories, discussing my work, explaining how and why to become an artist, or using music as a lesson prompt for creative, personal writing. I’m happy to talk to teachers about what kind of program would best suit their students, their interests and aspirations.”

—Sean Michaels

WEBSITE: byseanmichaels.com

TWITTER: @stgramophone