Neil McKinnon was raised in Saskatchewan and served in the Royal Canadian Navy before working as a businessman, archaeologist, university lecturer, and freelance writer in China, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and the United States. His articles have appeared in Canadian, Japanese, Mexican and U.S. publications, and his book Tuckahoe Slidebottle was short-listed for the Stephen Leacock Award for humour and for the Alberta Book Award for short fiction. He has served on literary juries and has also edited and published academically. He is a pensioner and long distance runner. When not visiting family in Vancouver, McKinnon and his wife of fifty years, Judy, live in Mexico.