Chris Labonté is a seasoned writing and publishing professional with more than two decades of experience in the publishing industry. He began his career as a front line bookseller, then book store manager, at Bollum's Books and Duthie Books in Vancouver. He completed his MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia, where he also edited and published two literary journals: prismInternational and Fugue.He worked for Douglas & McIntyre (D&M) for eleven years, first with Greystone Books, then with D&M itself, where he was Associate Publisher and Acquiring Editor, Fiction. He has acquired numerous award-winning and critically acclaimed titles during his time at D&M including Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese (CBC Canada Reads 2013), Vij's: Relax Honey by Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala, and several titles with the Vancouver Art Gallery. In 2012 he co-founded and launched Figure 1 Publishing, a hybrid publisher that publishes books by storytellers, artists and leading experts in the areas of art + design, business + leadership, food + drink, and Indigenous art + culture. Chris is a published writer of short fiction and short form non-fiction, as well as a screenwriter.He lives in Vancouver with his family.