Michael Johansen was born near Toronto; he studied at universities in Ontario and Scotland before receiving a degree in journalism from the University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a writer he could live anywhere in the world, but he chooses to make his home in Newfoundland and Labrador because of the province's rich history, awesome scenery, and friendly people. He maintains a historic heritage home in North West River, where he uses his spare time to restore the house and explore the Labrador wilderness on foot and by paddle.

Michael is an award-winning Canadian writer who has worked as a journalist and an editor since the late 1980s, filing to many newspapers, magazines, wire services, and radio and television news programs from across Canada and around Europe. Although he has reported from British Columbia, New Brunswick, Denmark, and Russia, he has spent most of his professional life covering stories in the eastern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Michael’s first novel, Confession in Moscow, was published in 2003, and his second novel, Separation Point—a mystery set in Labrador—will be ready for publication in the near future. Other writing projects include several historical novels and a feature-length screenplay called Bradford's Army.