Robert S. Allen earned his doctorate in history at the University of Wales. His previous publications include The British Indian Department and the Frontier in North America (1975), Native Studies in Canada: A Research Guide (1989, 3d ed.), and Loyalist Literature (1982). Allen lives in Ottawa and is deputy chief, Claims and Historical Research Centre, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. The centre's mandate is to facilitate native researchers and others in aspects of native history and land-claims investigations.

Robert Allen's profile page

"The vast majority of these interviews are entertaining and highly engaging. In addition to the pervasive concerns with race, gender, sexuality, and nation, there is definitely a sense of Montreal." -- Canadian Literature, Spring 2003 "The interviews are neatly and cleanly spaced out on the page, and, admirably, are also an eclectic mix of both writer and subject matter. Additionally, many of the writers are interviewed by other writers, which allows the reader to have an interest in both sides of the conversation.... For providing a variety of accessible insights, The Matrix Interviews is an extremely worthwhile book." -- Books in Canada, 2002