Johan af Ström

Johan af Ström is a Montreal writer and award-winning advertising creative whose noir thriller Gloves Off was born from the darkest chapter of his life.

In 2017, he survived a violent murder attempt. Beaten to the brink of death with a shovel, he ended up in a wheelchair with cerebellar ataxia. While his attacker walked out of court practically free, Johan spent months in hospital and physiotherapy, relearning how to walk.

But survival was only the beginning.

He rebuilt his career, returned to running 365 days a year, earned a Cannes Lion and a Grand Clio Award, and fought for justice for over six years, including three in the Quebec Superior Court alongside civil rights attorneys Julius Grey and Vanessa Paliotti.

During this ordeal, he wrote Gloves Off, a noir thriller drawn from the darkest corners of the justice system he endured.

His novel isn’t inspired by the justice system. It was forged inside it.

He lives in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal with his family.