Charlie Foran was born and raised in Toronto. He holds degrees from the University of Toronto and the University College, Dublin, and has taught in China, Hong Kong, and Canada. He has published 11 books, including five novels. His book, Mordecai, about the life and career of the late Modecai Richler, won the Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction and the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction in 2011.

He has also won a Canadian Jewish Book Award, two QSPELL prizes and several National Magazine Awards.