When Jon-Erik was a child, he spent time making booby traps under a white pine tree in his backyard, where he became good at daydreaming. He then progressed to writing rambling science-fiction stories, which he printed with a dot matrix printer and arranged on the basement floor. Today, he writes mostly at night, and scrolls through long drafts on his laptop to feel like he has accomplished something.

His debut children's book, Tokyo Digs a Garden was awarded the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Literature in 2016. His second book, Maggie’s Treasure was selected as a 2021 White Raven International title, and his third picture book, Song for the Snow, received wide critical acclaim. Martin and the River was named a 2022 CBC Summer Read. His upcoming book THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS will be released in 2025 with Random House Studio.

For inquiries regarding literary work or writing, please contact Emily van Beek at Folio Jr. / Folio Literary Management: Emily@foliolit.com · www.foliojr.com

Jon-Erik has a Masters of Education from the University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from York University, where he studied environment, culture and communication. 

Jon-Erik also works as a consultant and creative producer, developing creative media, strategy, and programming for organizations across a variety of sectors.

Other things Jon-Erik can be found doing in the on and off hours include looking for bags of money on roadsides, drinking too much coffee and forgetting why he walked into rooms.     

Jon-Erik lives in Stratford, Ontario with his wife, three daughters and a growing assortment of pets.