John Lavery (1949–2011) was a Canadian fiction writer of national reputation, known for his innovative and playful prose style. In addition to publishing his debut novel, Sandra Beck, with House of Anansi at the age of sixty-one, he was the author of two acclaimed story collections, You, Kwaznievski, You Piss Me Off, and Very Good Butter (a finalist for the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction). An accomplished lyricist and a founding member of the Societé de guitar de Montréal, he recorded his first album, Dignity, shortly before his death in May, 2011.