TERRY FALLIS grew up in Toronto and earned an engineering degree from McMaster University. Drawn to politics at an early age, he worked for cabinet ministers both at Queen's Park and in Ottawa. His first book, The Best Laid Plans, began as a podcast, then was self-published, won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, was re-published by McClelland & Stewart to great reviews, and was crowned the 2011 winner of CBC's Canada Reads as "the essential Canadian novel of the decade." His follow-up, The High Road, was a finalist for the 2011 Leacock Medal. A skilled public speaker, Terry Fallis is also cofounder of the public relations agency Thornley Fallis. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two children. Follow him on Twitter: @TerryFallis.