Winona Kent was born in London, England and grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, where she completed her BA in English at the University of Regina. After moving to Vancouver, she graduated from UBC with an MFA in Creative Writing and received her diploma in Writing for Screen and TV from Vancouver Film School.
Winona’s debut novel Skywatcher was a finalist in the Seal Books First Novel Award and was published by Bantam Books in 1989. Since then, she has written eleven more books, including her five current soft-boiled musical mysteries featuring professional musician / amateur sleuth Jason Davey.
Winona’s also the author of a number of short stories, which she’s gathered together for her anthology Ten Stories That Worried My Mother.
Winona has been a temporary secretary, a travel agent, a screenwriter and the Managing Editor of a literary magazine. She’s currently the national Chair of the Crime Writers of Canada, and is also an active member of Sisters in Crime – Canada West. After many decades working in jobs completely unrelated to writing, Winona is now happily embracing life as a full-time author. She lives in New Westminster, BC with her husband, and a concerning number of disobedient houseplants, many of which were rescued from her apartment building’s compost bin after being abandoned by previous owners.
Visit her website at: Winona Kent
Previous interview with Winona regarding her shot story anthology: 10 Stories that Worried My Mother