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He is the antithesis of prolific; he is to writing what the slow food movement is to cooking. The end result of both is always worth the time and care invested. Alistair MacLeod is one of Canada's greatest living writers and when he sits down to write, the literary world sits up and takes notice. His internationally renowned short stories examine the culture, socio-economic realities and the family and community relationships of the people of Cape Breton. His two collections, The Lost Salt Gift of Blood (1976) and As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories, published a decade later, have now been collected, along with two new stories, in a single volume entitled Island: The Collected Stories. His 1999 novel, No Great Mischief was shortlisted for every major Canadian literary award and won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Alistair MacLeod is Professor Emeritus at the University of Windsor where he taught English and creative writing for many years. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 2008.

Steven Galloway is the author of three novels and teaches Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.