John Steffler was born in Ontario but, since 1975, has lived in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, where he teaches at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College. His novel, The Afterlife of George Cartwright (M&S), won the Smithbooks/Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Thomas Raddall Award, and was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award and the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book. That Night We Were Ravenous (M&S 1998) won the Atlantic Poetry Prize.

Praise for previous work: "One of our finest lyric poets." Ken Babstock "John Steffler is Canada's most sensuously passionate writer. Reading him, we are put in touch with the pure erotic draw which the world exercises on him. The acuity of his perception, and the size of his heart, make his poems an essential part of our literature." Don McKay "Steffler's persona is a diviner, seeking out the ancient energies of the natural world, the atavistic source." Mary Dalton