Michael Close has a worldwide reputation in the magic community as an author, a creator, a performer, and a consultant. He has been a student of the conjuring arts for over fifty years, and has been performing professionally since 1978. His specialty is sleight-of-hand, close-up magic, but he also has extensive experience in stand-up magic. He has lectured and performed for audiences around the world.

Michael has published six books of original material for magicians. These have been hailed as modern classics. In addition, he was at the forefront of magic ebooks – instructional books that combined text, photographs, and videos in a way that has been often imitated, but never surpassed.

Michael is currently the editor of M-U-M, the magazine of The Society of American Magicians, a position he has held for almost nine years. Former editors include such well known American magicians as Harry Houdini, John Mulholland, and Milbourne Christopher.