Michael Busk grew up in South Bend, where he lived for a time in Knute Rockne’s old house. He received a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California, where he studied under Aimee Bender, Percival Everett, and T.C. Boyle.  His shorter work has appeared in Southern Review, Conjunctions, Iowa Review, Gettysburg Review, and elsewhere. His writing interests include cartoons, politics, sports, God, the beginning of civilization, the resurrection of the dead, and the end of the world.  Some of his favorite things include frogs (not to eat), pigs (to eat), Dixieland Jazz, Sonoma County, and a giant ball of twine from the Prairie Schooner office, which now lives on his mantle.   

For his day job, Michael runs Next Step Learning, an organization that helps students who struggle with reading and comprehension.  He has more children than any other writer he knows, and he and his wife live happily with them all in South Bend.