Michael Hess is a Toronto-based writer and filmmaker who has published in Fourth Genre, The Malahat Review, Best Gay Stories (2016), Broad Street, Shenandoah, and Post Road, where he earned his first Pushcart Prize Nomination. He was longlisted for the 2018 CBC Nonfiction Prize and earned a nod for a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays series (2017). He is a three-time finalist for The Iowa Review Award. His films have played at NewFest, Kansas International Film Festival, the NYU Director’s Series, the American Cinemateque in Los Angeles, and at Terrain.org. He is currently working on his debut novel at the Humber School for Writers.