He has published five short story collections, four novels (including Elle which won the 2003 Governor-General's Award for Fiction), three books of essays, and The Enamoured Knight, a monograph on Don Quixote and novel form.
His 1993 novel, The Life and Times of Captain N., was edited by Gordon Lish and released by Alfred A.
He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from York University in 1969 and an M.Litt.
He taught philosophy at the University of New Brunswick in 1971–72 and then worked as a reporter and editor on newspapers in Saint John, New Brunswick; Peterborough, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, until 1979.
[2] In 2010, he founded the online literary magazine, Numéro Cinq, which he edited until it ceased publication in August 2017.