Shani Mootoo is a writer and visual artist. She was born in Ireland, grew up in Trinidad, and moved to Canada in her early twenties. She’s the author of two poetry books, The Predicament of Or, and her latest, Cane | Fire. She’s the author of several novels, including Polar Vortex, finalist for the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and the acclaimed Cereus Blooms at Night, now a Penguin Modern Classic. Mootoo is the recipient of a Dr. James Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Award and has been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Western University. She lives in Southern Ontario.