Michael Hollett is the founder and president of North by Northeast (NXNE) music festival which happens every June in Toronto since 1995. Hollett is also founder of the national print and online arts magazine, ''NEXT'', available in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary since December, 2020. Hollett is co-founder of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

's longest-running free alternative newsweekly, ''

Now Magazine ''Now'' (styled as ''NOW''), also known as ''NOW Magazine'' is an online publication based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Throughout most of its existence, ''Now'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper. Physical publication of ''Now'' was suspen ...

''. He was editor and publisher of ''Now'' from 1981 to 2016.

Early life

Hollett was born in Oakville,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

parents. While at

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 ...

, studying English, Hollett became

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, ...

of the university newspaper, ''Excalibur'' during the late 1970s, where he met his future partner, Alice Klein. They were in left-wing politics during this period and were members of the Socialist League. Hollett went on to edit small-town newspapers throughout Ontario, including the ''Orangeville Citizen'', the ''Caledon Citizen'' and the "Halton Hills Herald", Georgetown, Ontario.

Career

In 1981, Hollett co-founded ''NOW'' with his partner Alice Klein. The paper has remained independent ever since. Although a number of alternative weekly newspapers had been attempted in Toronto without success in the past, ''Now'''s early decision to be distributed without charge proved to be crucial in its success. Buzz Burza helped develop the free distribution initiative after the paper initially charged 50 cents per copy. The magazine also continues to reflect the editorial slant that Hollett brought to it, notably favouring the New Democratic Party (NDP) politically. In 1995, Hollett became a founder of the North by Northeast (NXNE) music festival. In 2004, he provided the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...

for a

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

CD release by the band Blue Rodeo. Hollett served on the board of directors of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) a continental organization representing alt weeklies and digital media across North America from 2009 until 2016. He was also a founding member of the Alternative Media Foundation. Hollett resigned from both boards when he resigned from NOW Magazine in 2016. He resigned from NOW to focus on growing NXNE and to spend more time writing. He is a founding board member of Music Canada Live, launched in 2014, and remains active in the association. Hollett continues to travel the world attending music festivals and conferences, often as a speaker, expanding NXNE's contacts and looking for talent to book. He recently spoke at the Golden Medlody Awards, Conference and Festival in Taipei, Taiwan in June, 2018 and again in 2019.

Personal life

Hollett resides in the Toronto neighbourhood of Riverdale. He is an avid hockey fan and player, and was active with the Friends of Maple Leaf Gardens, an organization dedicated to the preservation of the historic hockey arena in downtown Toronto who helped preserve and re-purpose the building.

External links

Now Magazine
Everything Toronto.
Micheal's Bio @ Now magazineNXNE
Music Festival {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollett, Michael Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian male journalists Canadian newspaper editors Canadian magazine publishers (people) Living people Year of birth missing (living people)