Richard B. Wright was born in Midland, Canada on March 4, 1937. After graduating from Ryerson University in 1959, he worked as a copywriter for newspapers and radio shows and later accepted an editor post at Macmillan Canada. His first book, Andrew Tolliver, was a children's book. His first novel, The Weekend Man, was published in 1970. He wrote more than 15 books during his lifetime including Nightfall, The Age of Longing, and In the Middle of a Life. Clara Callan won the 2001 Giller Prize, the 2001 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction, and the 2002 Trillium Book Award. His memoir, A Life with Words, was published in 2015. He became a member of the Order of Canada in 2007. He also taught English at Ridley College. He died after sustaining a fall on February 7, 2017 at the age of 79.