James was born and raised in Colombia. After majoring in advertising in Bogota;, he moved to New York to learn English. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. His debut novel, Tales from the Town of Widows & Chronicles from the Land of Men, has been published in over twenty countries. It was selected as one of the "Ten Best Books of the year" by the American School Library Journal, and it has received several awards, among them the 2008 Prix du Premier Roman Étranger and the 2008 Prix des lecteurs de Vincennes. James's short stories and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals in the US, Mexico, France, Belgium and Latvia.

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James Canon

Writer