Michael J. McCarthy was born in St. Jacques, Fortune Bay, moving to Terrenceville at the age of five, where he attended school until grade eleven. He attended Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Ottawa, graduating with an MA. in Literature. He taught in a number of communities until his retirement in 1986. Michael McCarthy is the author of three novels and a history book. He is the co-author of several more books and has written for several magazines, as well as for radio and television. He was married to the former Ann Hamlyn, and they had two children: Michael and Karen.

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