About the Author

Michael Hetherington has bachelors degrees from Queen’s University and the University of British Columbia and a masters degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics.

His published books to date include: The Late Night Caller (Turnstone Press, 2003); The Archive Carpet (Passfield Press, 2012); The Playing Card (Passfield Press, 2013); Halving the Orange (Passfield Press, 2014); and, Hooked (Passfield Press, 2014). His first novel, The Playing Card, won the gold medal for best fiction from the Canada West region – 2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards, and was a finalist in the literary fiction category – ForeWord Reviews 2013 Book of the Year Awards. Halving the Orange was a finalist in the same category in the ForeWord Reviews 2014 Awards. In 2015, Hooked was named a Shelf Unbound Notable 100 for 2015.

He has appeared in many events – including on the radio, Pandora’s Collective’s Twisted Poets Literary Salon, LitFest NewWest, and Surrey Libraries’ “Authors Among Us” – promoting his books. Michael’s work – including excerpts from The Late Night Caller and The Archive Carpet – has been published in literary magazines such as: Blood & Aphorisms, Exile, Geist, Lichen, The Malahat Review, Matrix, ON SPEC, and The New Quarterly.

He has a son and daughter and lives in North Vancouver. Visit Michael Hetherington’s website at michaelhetherington.ca.

Praise for Michael Hetherington’s Books: (more via the “Media Coverage” link)

Hooked:

Shelf Unbound Notable 100 for 2015

“If you have ever felt that something sinister lies beneath the surface of the beautiful city [Vancouver] and its beaches, Hooked is a must read.” –Trek Magazine

Halving the Orange:

Finalist, ForeWord Reviews 2014 Book of the Year Awards

“… anyone who opts to pick up a copy can fully expect to read something that is both complex and coherent.” (The Peak, SFU)

The Playing Card:

Gold medal for best fiction from the Canada West region, 2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards

Finalist, ForeWord Reviews 2013 Book of the Year Awards

The Archive Carpet:

“Here we have an inspiring effort by Michael Hetherington in which little moments of the charming mundane are captured and preserved along with wisps of fleeting meaning.” (Pacific Rim Magazine)

“Hetherington’s best fragments suggest grand, complex worlds. ‘Elsbeth was not enjoying the story. But she had no choice, because it was the only story. After a year with no change, she insisted on another story, but the committee denied her request.’

“In other fragments, the suggestiveness is more realistic, and sinister: ‘I felt her fingers. They were warm and she didn’t wake up. I felt her throat.'” (Winnipeg Free Press)

“Though many of the pieces … could fit comfortably into a single tweet, the stories don’t feel fractured. They seem to insinuate more, in the way that a really talented artist can sketch a half-moon and suddenly you imagine a cheek. Hetherington has mastered the art of creating potential action in micro-fiction …” (Broken Pencil Magazine)

The Late Night Caller:

“It is with a remarkable sense of freedom that Michael Hetherington unleashes his imagination in this collection of writings.” (North Shore News)

“… There is a lot of good, old-fashioned Jungian fun in Michael Hetherington’s collection, in addition to wonderfully luminous prose and a conundrum that keeps teasing at the edges of this reader’s mind. He provides us with a balm for our humdrum condition—a magic cure for conventional existence. I highly recommend it.” (Books in Canada)

“Good things in teensy packages” (The Vancouver Sun)