Mathis Z'Aire Bailey (born December 13, 1981) is an
American–Canadian
American Canadians are Canadians of American descent. The term is most often used to refer to Canadians who migrated from or have ancestry from the United States.
Demography
According to the 2016 Census, 29,590 Canadians reported American as b ...
author and
fiction writer
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a tradit ...
based in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada.
Biography
Mathis was born in 1981, in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, to Deborah Munroe-Bailey and Charles Philip Bailey. He is the middle child of three siblings. His mother was born in
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau ( ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in ...
and his father is an American citizen.
His uncle is the late Myles Munroe.
Mathis graduated from
Redford High School
Redford High School was a secondary school in Detroit, Michigan. A part of Detroit Public Schools, the school opened in September 1921 and ceased operations in June 2007. Staffed and operated by the Detroit Public Schools; Redford High School ...
in Detroit. He moved to Toronto in 2008 where he received his degree in
Broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...
at
Seneca College
Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology is a multiple-campus public college in the Greater Toronto Area, and Peterborough, Ontario, Canada regions. It offers full-time and part-time programs at the baccalaureate, diploma, certificate an ...
and York University. He was a regular writer for
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and staf ...
’s newspaper, ''
Excalibur
Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in t ...
''.
Mathis didn't think of becoming an author until he decided to take a creative writing program to improve his writing chops to write restaurant reviews for the ''
Gulf News
''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was first launched in 1978, and is currently distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf Countries. Its online edition was laun ...
''. Mathis is the author of
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term i ...
novel ''Confused Spice'' which was published in late 2016. The novel was reviewed by ''
Kirkus Reviews'', ''Manhattan Book Review'' and ''San Francisco Book Review''. According to ''Kirkus Reviews'', ''"The author beautifully melds the art of cooking with rising romantic desire and examines engaging cultural dynamics"''.
Kirkus Review reviews Confused Spice
Retrieved 2016-11-28 ''Confused Spice'' is a story of a twenty-nine-year old man, who dreams of becoming a renowned pâtissier
A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, ...
and chef.[Confused Spice reviewed at Goodreads](_blank)
Retrieved 2016-11-28
Mathis' second novel "Brown Sugar & Spice" is now out. Kirkus Reviews already claims it to be "Warm and engaging." The third book in the series called "Black Truffle and Spice" is due out Early Spring 2022.
Books
*''Confused Spice'' (2016)
*Brown Sugar & Spice (2019)
*Black Truffle & Spice (2022)
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Mathis
1981 births
Living people
American LGBT novelists
African-American novelists
Writers from Detroit
Writers from Toronto
Redford High School alumni
21st-century African-American writers
20th-century African-American people
Canadian LGBT novelists
American male novelists
Canadian male novelists
21st-century American novelists
21st-century Canadian novelists
Black Canadian writers
American emigrants to Canada
African-American male writers
Black Canadian LGBT people