Michael F Stewart
Award Winning Author
Add TURN TO BURN to your Goodreads.
Nike’s bones burn to save the city.
Seventeen-year-old Nike stalks Toronto’s streets by night, hunting raitgur—alien land squids that slither through shadows, infecting the vulnerable. Her father wields Burner fire to destroy them, but the spark, that comes from her. He burns Nike’s fingers like wicks, stealing her flame to fuel his war.
She hates it. Hates him.
But the raitgur took everything. Her mother. Her sister. So if setting herself on fire is the price of vengeance, she’ll pay it.
Except the burns are getting worse. Her father’s power is guttering. The city’s infection is spreading. And Nike wonders how much more she can take. Isn’t it her turn to burn?
Coming November 25, 2025!
AVAILABLE NOW!
Ten-year-old Teagan loves her big brother Draven. When he disappears after a fight with their father, she's stunned and lost without him. She can't believe her father's accusations that Draven's a thief. But the truth may be scarier. A gift of her father's old, cracked phone means a chance to turn detective. As Teagan's world blossoms with the phone's possibilities, she traces the clues and hunts for her missing brother. A school art project and Teagan's growing compulsion to use her phone offer answers to how she can find Draven and maybe help mend her broken family.
“In this striking novel-in-verse, Michael Stewart presents a poignant tale of growing up, leaning in, falling out, and managing hard truths. Using free verse, wordplay, concrete poetry, and more, Stewart's story provides a lovely mycorrhizal mutualism for readers of all ages.” K.A. Holt, award winning author of Ben Bee and the Teacher Griefer.
“A cautionary tale crafted with a storyteller’s skill and a poet’s economy with language. Seeking Draven is a call to reexamine our relationship to the wired world,” Katherine Lawrence, acclaimed author of Stay.
"The cover of Michael F. Stewart's latest novel, and his first in free verse, is subtle and deceivingly simple. It's not unlike the fungi that ten-year-old Teagan loves to study and draw. But, like the mushrooms and other fungi, what you see is just a fraction of what is there, most hidden and complex. Seeking Draven is a story of such depth of feeling and craft, masquerading as a short novel about a little girl who likes mushrooms and playing with her phone."
— CanLit for Little Canadians
Check out the teacher resource here: www.seekingdraven.com
The Momentous Expiration of Tremmy Sinclair
"The writing and pacing are superb, the characters are totally believable, the humour is outstanding and the plotline fires on all cylinders beginning to end." CM Reviews -- Highly Recommended
"Tremendous Sinclair's expiration is truly momentous, as is Michael F. Stewart's telling of it." CanLit for Little Canadians.
Winner of Ontario's Indie Author Project
Heart Sister
“Raw, real, and riveting. In Heart Sister, Stewart masterfully takes us on Emmitt’s poignant search for what might be found when all seems lost. Heartfelt and heart-wrenching, it is a powerful story of hope.” -- Caroline Pignat, two-time Governor General’s Award–winning author of Shooter
Canadian Children's Book Centre Starred Review
Snow Willow Award Nominee
Ottawa Book Award Nominee
Ray Vs the Meaning of Life
"A tale spins its answer to an age-old question into an inclusive, hilarious, and thought-provoking yarn."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Ray vs The Meaning of Life will have readers rolling their eyes in mock horror, laughing out loud, and asking themselves about the meaning in their own lives. For an author to take readers from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again shows both a willingness to take risks with his writing and an incredible understanding of his audience. Highly Recommended." CM: Canadian Review of Materials
"Stewart's fast-paced, darkly hilarious novel will cause readers to chuckle, tear up, hug their moms, and cross their fingers for a sequel ..." the Booklife Prize (Grand Prize Winner).
"... full of heart and spunk. This author has a new fan in me. I'm definitely checking out more of his work."--Rebecca Sky, author of The Love Curse series.
"Wildly imaginative, deeply felt, funny, and at times tragic, this novel delivers a unique and rewarding reading experience." Jury statement, Ottawa Book Awards (nominee, 2019)
Counting Wolves
"Best Book of 2017" Kirkus Reviews
"Stewart lets the story do the talking in a world populated by fabulous supporting characters and full of surprises. Counting Wolves is an engaging read for teens and adults alike," Wesley King, author of the Edgar and Silver Birch Award winner OCDaniel.
"At its core, Stewart's memorably inventive novel destigmatizes mental illness and sends a message that seeking help can make life better. A deeply affecting, hard-to-put-down work that depicts a girl's dark odyssey through obsession toward healing insight." Kirkus Reviews
Keep in a Cold, Dark Place
"With its tyrannical parents, moronic siblings, goofy monsters, and dark humor, the book summons the works of middle-grade master Roald Dahl. Young readers interested in less cuddly fare should enjoy this offbeat story of curses, creatures, and lessons on finding satisfaction in one's place in the world.
A darkly funny rural tale with a scary bent." -- Kirkus Reviews
"Keep writing, my friend."