Patrice Martin is a writer and politician who claims to have been bumping into the spirit of Kafka for most of his adult life. His years spent in government, first as a procedural clerk in Canada’s House of Commons, then as a municipal councillor, no doubt helped shape his first novel, the deliciously absurd Kafka’s Hat. Martin holds a Master’s degree in political science from the University of Ottawa. He lives in Gatineau, Quebec, with his wife and daughter.