Michelle Barker
Michelle Barker is a Canadian author, poet, editor, and educator. She writes for young adults, children, and adults, across historical fiction, fantasy, picture books, poetry, and non-fiction. She is a senior editor with the editing collective Darling Axe.
Early life and education
Barker earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia.Career
Literary work
Barker's young adult novel The House of One Thousand Eyes was named a Kirkus Best Book of 2018.She followed with My Long List of Impossible Things and the picture book A Year of Borrowed Men, which was a finalist for the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award.
Her earlier works include The Beggar King and the poetry chapbook Old Growth, Clear-Cut: Poems of Haida Gwaii.
Reception and awards
Barker won the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award in 2019 for The House of One Thousand Eyes.The House of One Thousand Eyes received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal. It was also named to Kirkus Reviews' list of Best Young Adult Books of 2018.
A Year of Borrowed Men drew praise from Quill & Quire for its portrayal of wartime life through a child's perspective, and was a finalist for the 2016 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award.