Sean Michaels (born 1982) is a Scottish-born Canadian novelist, music critic, and

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

ger, based in Montreal, Quebec. Michaels’ first novel, '' Us Conductors'' won the 2014

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...

. His second, ''The Wagers'' (2019), was named “a wistful and wonderful adventure” by

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

. His third, ''Do You Remember Being Born?'', was praised by the Globe & Mail as “wildly unique…it might be the forebear of a whole new genre of writing." As a music critic and journalist, Michaels has written for publications such as ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American nonprofit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. The executive director is Amanda Uhle. McSweeney's first publication was the literary journal'' Timothy McSw ...

'', '' The Believer'', ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', '' Maisonneuve'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

'' and ''

The National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

''. His weekly music column, ''Heartbeats'', debuted in ''

The Globe & Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it falls ...

'' in 2015.

Early life

Michaels was born in Stirling, Scotland. He was raised in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He relocated to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

to study at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Early career

Michaels initially came to prominence as founder of

Said the Gramophone Said the Gramophone is an mp3 blog launched in 2003, one of the first of its type. Founded by Montreal novelist Sean Michaels (writer), Sean Michaels, as of 2016 the site is maintained with contributions by poet Emma Healey (Canadian writer), Em ...

, one of the first mp3 blogs, where he was among the first music critics to write about

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band's touring line-up includes former core ...

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Nicolas Jaar Nicolas Jaar (, ; né Nicolás Jaar; born January 10, 1990) is a Chilean-American composer and musician. Among his notable works are the albums '' Space Is Only Noise'' (2011), ''Sirens'' (2016), and '' Cenizas'' (2020). He has also released th ...

and Feist. His music criticism is known for a dreamy, literary writing style, contributing to his work as a writer in residence for events like the

Dawson City Dawson City is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest municipality in Yukon. History Prior t ...

Music Festival and, since 2009, Sappyfest. Six years after its founding, Said the Gramophone was recognized by ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' as one of the world's 25 best blogs. His articles about travel, food and culture have appeared in ''

Brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

'', ''

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, nonprofit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an eight-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a nation ...

'', and ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

''. In 2010, Michaels was awarded a gold prize at the

Canadian National Magazine Awards The National Media Awards Foundation (NMAF) is a Canadian charity whose mission is to recognize excellence in the content and creation of Canadian magazines and Canadian digital publishing through two annual awards programs: the National Magazine ...

for a feature concerning the Parisian art guerrillas

Les UX The ''UX'' (short for ''Urban eXperiment'') is an underground organization of Urban explorers that improves hidden corners of Paris. Their work includes an undercover effort to repair and restore the Panthéon's clock, building a cinema — compl ...

; this article first appeared in ''Brick'' and was later re-published by

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' () is a design, technology, science, and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the sub-blogs ''io9'' and ''Earther'', which focus on pop ...

. He received a second

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

in 2013, for an article on Canadian circus, published by ''The Walrus''. Michaels also writes short fiction; his short stories has been published in '' Maisonneuve'', '' The New Quarterly'', '' The Lifted Brow'', and the anthologies ''We Are the Friction'' and ''The Art of Trespassing''. Since 2009, Michaels has given several lectures on contemporary journalism and the music industry, including appearances at

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

, and the

Pop Montreal POP Montreal is an annual List of music festivals, music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 ve ...

Symposium. He is a member of the

Polaris Music Prize The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize. The prize was inc ...

jury and assisted on the grand jury which selected

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock collective that originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation Records (Canada), Constellation, an in ...

's ''

'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! ''Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!'' (sometimes stylized in all caps) is the fourth studio album by Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, released by Constellation Records. It was their first album since 2002's '' Yanqui U.X.O.''. A ...

'' as the best Canadian album of 2013. In 2010, Michaels formed an absurdist improv duo with Vinny Francois called Venezuela. They performed several early shows at the

Montreal Improv Theatre Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the ninth-largest in North America. It was founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", and is now named after Mount Royal, the triple-peak ...

. In 2011, they were featured at the Montreal Fringe Festival and opened for Tig Notaro. His most recent theatrical credit is in Mark Slutsky's acclaimed short film '' Sorry, Rabbi'' as Hasid #5.

''Us Conductors''

Michaels' debut novel, '' Us Conductors'', was published by

Random House Canada Random House of Canada was the Canadian distributor for Random House, Inc. from 1944 until 2013. On July 1, 2013, it amalgamated with Penguin Canada to become Penguin Random House Canada. Company history Random House of Canada was established i ...

and

Tin House Books ''Tin House'' is an American literary magazine and book publisher based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. History Portland publisher Win McCormack originally conceived the idea for a literary magazine called ''Tin House'' in the summer ...

(US) in 2014. This book is inspired by the lives of

Léon Theremin Lev Sergeyevich Termen ( 18963 November 1993), better known as Leon Theremin, was a Russian inventor, most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments and the first to be mass-produced. He also worke ...

, inventor of the

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone, etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named aft ...

, and the musician

Clara Rockmore Clara Reisenberg Rockmore ( Reisenberg; 9 March 1911 – 10 May 1998) was a Litvak classical violin prodigy and a virtuoso performer of the theremin, an electronic musical instrument. She was the sister of pianist Nadia Reisenberg. Life and ...

. ''Us Conductors'' was named the winner of the 2014

. In his acceptance speech for the award, Michaels said that as a new author, it was an "unimaginable gift" to receive support from writers and publishers. He also addressed recent scandals surrounding abuse in arts communities - notably claims against former Giller host

Jian Ghomeshi Jian Ghomeshi (born June 9, 1967) is a Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and former CBC personality. From 1990 to 2000, he was a vocalist and drummer in the Thornhill-based folk-pop band Moxy Früvous. In the 2000s, he became ...

. "There are people in our little corner of culture who behave monstrously," he said. "We have to reckon with that, and change it. Each of us does." The novel was also subsequently awarded the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and named as a nominee for the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, the inaugural Kirkus Prize and the CLMP Firecracker Award for Fiction.

References

External links

Said the GramophoneOfficial website for ''Us Conductors''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michaels, Sean 1982 births Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian male novelists Journalists from Montreal Journalists from Ontario Canadian male bloggers Living people Canadian male short story writers Canadian writers about music People from Stirling Scottish emigrants to Canada 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian novelists Novelists from Ottawa Novelists from Montreal