Michelle Hébert
BIOGRAPHY
Michelle Hébert grew up playing and dreaming on the beaches and marshes of Cumberland County, NS. She’s lived and worked across Canada, but ended up back by the ocean in Halifax.
Michelle Hébert grew up playing and dreaming on the beaches and marshes of Cumberland County, NS. She’s lived and worked across Canada, but ended up back by the ocean in Halifax.
Her writing has appeared in small town newspapers across Canada, Mothering magazine, The Coast, and New Maritimes. She’s created audio essays and long-form documentaries for CBC radio, and documentaries and features for CBC television. Much of her writing (and work in social work and government) has focused on mental health, and she’s given keynotes and been interviewed about her lived experience with PTSD and recovery from an eating disorder.
Michelle’s first non-fiction book Enriched by Catastrophe: Social Work and Social Conflict after the Halifax Explosion, was published by Fernwood in 2007. She was a presenting author at Word on the Street in 2009, and every December, when the anniversary of the Explosion comes around, she gives interviews, keynotes, and takes part of panel discussions about the Explosion’s impact on social policy, public health, and social work. She’s been interviewed on CTV National News, CTV Morning Live, CBC Newsworld, CBC Nova Scotia, and many print and radio media outlets.
Michelle’s debut novel, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, will be published by Vagrant Press/Nimbus in Spring 2024 – around the same time she’ll be graduating with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Non-Fiction from the University of King’s College. She’s grateful for the support of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.
Michelle lives in Halifax with her two teenagers, four cats, and a dog.
