Michael John Harris

Michael Harris
Born	1980
Occupation	non-fiction, journalism, young adult literature
Nationality	Canadian
Period	2010s-present
Notable works	The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We’ve Lost in a World of Constant Connection(2014) Solitude: In Pursuit of A Singular Life in a Crowded World(2017)

Michael Harrisis aCanadianauthor and journalist. His first book,The End of Absence: Reclaiming What We’ve Lost in a World of Constant Connectionwon theGovernor General's Award for English-language non-fictionat the2014 Governor General's Awards.It was also long-listed for both the RBC Charles Taylor Prize and the B.C. National Nonfiction Award.The End of Absenceis a reported memoir about living through a "Gutenberg Moment." It is a portrait of the last generation in history to remember life before the Internet. By describing the constant connectivity of contemporary life, Harris explores the idea that lack and absence are actually human virtues being stripped from us.

Harris's argument about online life was extended in his second work,Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World,where he argues that solitude should be thought of as a resource that has been exploited and monetized by devices and platform technologies.

In 2021 Harris published a third book,All We Want: Building the Life We Cannot Buy,which describes the emergence of consumer culture and proposes a paradigm shift in the way we measure our lives as a climate emergency forces radical change.

Harris worked as an editor forVancouver MagazineandWestern Living,and his essays have appeared inEsquire,Wired,Salon,Huffington Post,The Globe and Mail,andThe Walrus.His journalism has been nominated for both theWestern Magazine Awardsand theNational Magazine Awards.

In 2012, he also published theyoung adult novelHomo,about agayteenager struggling with coming out in high school.

External links

• Michael Harris