Benjamin Hertwig was born and raised under big prairie skies and has recently returned to the bright, sad city of Edmonton. As a child, he liked sports publicly and books privately, and since graduating from high school has spent time as a soldier, a student, a bike courier, a tree-planter, a ceramicist, an inner-city housing worker, and an English instructor. His first book of poetry, Slow War, was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Awards and received the poetry prize at the Alberta Literary Awards. His writing has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, and The New York Times, and he is the recipient of a National Magazine Award in personal journalism. He has taught writing workshops to inmates, veterans, and students across Canada. Juiceboxers is his first novel.