David Helwig was born in Toronto. He taught at Queens University and was literary manager of CBC-TV Drama. He has been a full-time writer and editor since 1980, and has worked extensively with Oberon Press, Ottawa. Helwig has published numerous books of poetry and fiction, most recently The Child of Someone (1997), A Random Gospel (1996), This Human Day (2000) and Living Here (2001). His Catchpenny Poems won the CBC poetry award in 1983. Helwig lived on Prince Edward Island until his death in October 2018.