Michael Pronko has lived in Tokyo for twenty years, but was born in Kansas City, a very different world. After graduating from Brown University in philosophy, he hit the road, traveling around the world for two years working odd jobs. He went back to school for a Master's in Education, and then took a teaching position in Beijing. For two years, he taught English, traveled China and wrote. After more traveling, another M.A. in Comparative Literature in UW Madison, and a PhD in English and film in University of Kent, he settled in Tokyo as a professor of American Literature at Meiji Gakuin University. His seminars focus on contemporary novels and film adaptations, with other classes in American indie film and American music and art. In addition to award-winner The Last Train (2017), Pronko has published three award-winning collections about Tokyo life: Motions and Moments (2015), Tokyo's Mystery Deepens (2014), and Beauty and Chaos (2014). He has published three books in Japanese and two textbooks in both English and Japanese. Over the years in Tokyo, he has written regular columns for many publications: The Japan Times, Newsweek Japan, Jazznin, ST Shukan, Jazz Colo[u]rs, and Artscape Japan. He runs his own website Jazz in Japan (www.jazzinjapan.com). He also continues to publish academic articles and helps run the Liberlit Conference on teaching literature. More at: www.michaelpronko.comwww.facebook.com/pronkoauthor @pronkomichael