Gary Barwin is a writer, composer, and multidisciplinary artist and the author of twenty-one books of poetry, fiction and books for children. He is a three-time recipient of Hamilton Poetry Book of the Year. His latest book is the poetry collection No TV for Woodpeckers (Wolsak & Wynn). His recent national bestselling novel Yiddish for Pirates (Random House Canada) won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour as well as the Canadian Jewish Literary Award (Fiction) and the Hamilton Book Award (Fiction). It was also a finalist for both the Governor General's Award for Fiction and the Scotiabank Giller Prize. A finalist for the National Magazine Awards (Poetry), he is a three-time recipient of Hamilton Poetry Book of the Year, has also received the Hamilton Arts Award for Literature and has co-won the bpNichol Chapbook Award and the K.M. Hunter Arts Award. He was one of the judges for the 2017 CBC Poetry Prize. A PhD in music composition, Barwin has been Writer-in-Residence at Western University and is currently be writer-in-residence at McMaster University and the Hamilton Public Library in 2017-2018. He has taught creative writing at a number of colleges and universities and to at-risk youth. His writing has been published in hundreds of magazine and journals internationally"”from Readers Digest to Granta"”and his writing, music, media works and visuals have been presented and broadcast internationally. Though born in Northern Ireland to South African parents of Ashenazi descent, Barwin lives in Hamilton, Ontario. He is married with three adult children and lives in Hamilton, Ontario. He has never been Governor of Louisiana. Visit garybarwin.com