J. Kent Messum was born in Toronto in 1979, the product of a merger between a Cockney Lad and a Geordie Lass that resulted in a typical Aries, who came out of the delivery room with a chip on his shoulder and an overactive imagination. During his early years his mother read fantastical stories to him every night, and his father frequently invented tales of witches and ghosts that both intrigued and terrified him. He was a frightened child growing up, convinced of a boogeyman in every closet and a monster under most beds. His stories are rooted in that same childhood fear, now evolved and molded by a mix of life experiences and a good deal of thinking outside the box. Jamie graduated from York University’s Fine Arts Program and has worked as a session musician, freelance writer, producer, internet radio station disc jockey, bartender, office gopher, music teacher, movie grip, laborer, contractor, and a few other things he’d rather not admit. A glutton for punishment, Jamie has been involved heavily in both the music business and film business for well over a decade. He writes incessantly, putting on paper as many stories and ideas as his time will allow. The literary business is a welcome change, since he writes as if his life depended on it anyway. Jamie’s debut novel, Bait, a dark psychological thriller about a group of strangers who find themselves stranded on a deserted island, was published in the US and Canada August 27 2013, and by Penguin UK September 13 2013. Publishing rights have also been acquired in Brazil, Czech Republic, Greece, and Bulgaria. His follow up novel, Husk, a serial killer thriller, will be published by Penguin UK on July 30 2015.

Winner: 2014 Arthur Ellis Award for "Best First Novel"