Born in Toronto, Ontario, Mitchell graduated from the University of New Brunswick with an honors degree in English literature in 1974.
After college, he returned to his hometown and worked at the University of Toronto bookstores on the Erindale Campus.
"[1] In 1993, he started work at a computer-based training company, FirstClass Systems, which later became LearnStream.
In 2005, Mitchell served as International Spokesperson for Read an eBook Week, during which time, he worked with Michael S. Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, on a "Brief History of Project Gutenberg".
Mitchell was a featured writer/instructor at the 2006 Maritime Writers' Workshop & Literary Festival in Fredericton, New Brunswick.