Since his 1987 graduation from New York University's School of Journalism (Magna Cum Laude), Michael Vlessides has made a career of creating tight, refreshing, and readable copy for a wide range of audiences and businesses. From best-sellers to annual reports, anesthesiology to walruses, Michael has done it all.To date, Michael has written seven books, five of which have been Toronto Globe & Mail national best-sellers. He co-authored three titles based on the hit TV show You Gotta Eat Here!: You Gotta Eat Here! (Harper Collins 2012; a Globe & Mail bestseller); You Gotta Eat Here, Too! (Harper Collins 2014; a Globe & Mail bestseller), and You Gotta Go Here! (Harper Collins 2017). In 2011, Mike penned the national best-seller The Ice Pilots: Flying With The Mavericks Of The Great White North (D&M Publishers, Vancouver). Mike’s two other Globe & Mail best-sellers include titles written for Les Stroud, better known as TV’s Survivorman: Will To Live, Dispatches From The Edge Of Survival (Harper Collins; 2010) and Survive! How To Get Out Of Anywhere… Alive (Harper Colins; 2008), which has sold more than 250,000 copies worldwide. Mike also published a pre-teen title with Avon Publishing's Spinetingler series, and contributed chapters to The Nunavut Handbook and Nunavut ’99. Currently, Mike is co-authoring two books with international personalities. Previously, Mike collaborated with Simon Donato of TV’s Boundless fame to create the structure, themes, and chapters for his Harper Collins book, The Boundless Life: 13 Lessons Learned The Hard Way. Michael’s professional writing career began as an employee of Major League Baseball's Commissioner's Office in New York City, where he created press kits for the public relations department. After moving to Major League Baseball Properties, he was responsible for writing and editing press releases, product catalogs, and presentation packages. He also launched the award-winning retail newsletter Extra Innings, which he wrote and edited. During his 1988-1992 baseball tenure Michael also penned articles for sports licensing trade journals such as Team Licensing Business and SportStyle. Between 1992 and 2018, Michael acted as a consultant for various Major League Baseball clubs during salary arbitration hearings, writing and presenting complex legal briefs.Michael regularly contributes to several medical trade publications and websites, including MD Alert; Medscape Medical News; Anesthesiology News; and Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News. Michael, who served as editor of Up Here magazine in 1996-97, has contributed to many consumer magazines, including International Wildlife, Canadian Geographic, British Columbia Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Canadian Wildlife, Explore, L’Actualité, and Avenue.Michael helped the Calgary Urban Project Society, a Calgary-based organization that works with street people, create and publish that city’s first and only ‘street newspaper’, Calgary Street Talk. Mike served as editor of Street Talk for a year, seeing the publication through its fledgling stages before passing on the editorial reins. Michael also produces a considerable body of written collateral materials for North American companies large and small. This includes annual reports, corporate brochures, flyers, product sheets, radio, TV, and print advertisements. Through his Textman Writing Workshops he speaks about business writing skills to professionals across North America. A proud Canadian citizen, Mike lives in Canmore, Alberta with his amazing wife Caroline and an ever-changing array of their eight (not a typo!) children.
