Award-winning poet and writer Steven Heighton has died. He was 60.

Over his decades-long career, Heighton published 19 books. A celebrated poet, he won a Governor General’s Literary Award for his 2016 collection The Waking Comes Late, but his published works spanned genres. He was also the author of several novels (including Afterlands), a children’s book, a memoir, essays, and a short-story collection.

His last published book was last year’s Selected Poems, 1983-2020 (House of Anansi Press). Most recently, the Kingston, Ontario-based author turned to songwriting and released The Devil’s Share, an 11-song album last year.

After news of his death broke on Twitter, writers, editors, and poets shared memories of him, remembering him overwhelmingly as, as Biblioasis tweeted, “a fine poet, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and an even better man.”

House of Anansi, which published both Heighton’s poetry and his children’s book at Groundwood, said in a statement that they “received the news of Steven Heighton’s passing with great sadness and send our deepest condolences to his loved ones.”

“Steven was a prolific and prize-winning author, poet, and musician. He was also a kind friend and a true talent. He will be so missed.”