W.D. Valgardson was born in Winnipeg in 1939 but spent most of his childhood in Gimli, an Icelandic community on Lake Winnipeg. He is chair of the writing department at the University of Victoria. His novel Gentle Sinners (1980) won the Books in Canada first novel award, and he has written books for children and young adults and four collections of stories. "A Matter of Balance," a winner in the 1980 CBC Canadian Literary Awards, is included in What Can't Be Changed Shouldn't Be Mourned &34;1990".