Michael W. Harkins

Michael W. Harkins is an independent journalist, author and occasional writing instructor in Northern California. His 2016 book, "Move to Fire - A family's tragedy, a lone attorney, and a teenager's victory over a corrupt gunmaker," is the true story of a boy accidentally shot and paralyzed by a defective handgun, and the attorney who won a historic twenty-four million dollar product liability judgment for the boy a decade later. One of only nine independently published nonfiction titles to receive a 2016 starred review from Publishers Weekly, it was also included on its 2016 Spring Titles to Watch list, and 2016 Independent All Stars list. It is in development as an independent feature film. 

In 2022, If Steve, Then Steph, his exclusive in-depth profile about Steve Jobs' personal producer of thirty years, became an Amazon number one Hot Seller in its category. An updated, second  edition of his book, The Way to Begin, was released in May 2025, a creative writing method for new writers struggling to develop and transform ideas into a book's opening pages.

His forty-year creative career includes work for and with a wide variety of clients. His writing has appeared in Real Simple magazine, Thrice Fiction magazine, and Northern California's NorthBay Biz magazine, where he also served as the publication's creative director, and his NPR All Things Considered piece, Mom's Voice, was a listener favorite.

From the mid-1970s to the late 1980s he was fortunate enough to have worked in concert productions and video productions with many of the era's premier recording artists, including Journey, Bruce Springsteen, Santana, the Grateful Dead, Michael Jackson, and Prince.

He is a former adult literacy tutor, volunteers with several wildlife organizations, and is a veteran of the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division.