James Canon was born and raised in Colombia. After majoring in advertising in Bogotá, he moved to New York to learn English. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University.
His debut novel, Tales from the Town of Widows & Chronicles from the Land of Men, has been translated into eleven languages and published in over twenty countries. It was selected as one of the “Ten Best Books of the year” by the American School Library Journal, and it has received several national and international awards, among them the 2008Prix du Premier Roman Étranger and the 2008 Prix des lecteurs de Vincennes.
James’s short stories and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals in the US, Mexico, France, Belgium and Latvia. He’s currently at work on his second novel.