John Degen is a poet and novelist with three published books. He holds a Master’s degree in Literature from the University of Toronto. His debut novel, The Uninvited Guest, was shortlisted for the 2006 Amazon.ca First Novel Award. His essays and opinions have been published widely throughout Canada, including in The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Quill & Quire, and the Literary Review of Canada. Degen has worked on behalf of other authors for the past thirty years. He is Chief Executive Officer of The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC). He lives and works, happily, in Thessalon, Ontario, with occasional reluctant visits to Toronto and Ottawa.