Sinclair Ross was born in Saskatchewan in 1908. His career in banking lasted more than forty years. Sinclair Ross is widely recognized for his contributions to Canadian literature, particularly prairie realism. He died in 1996.

Kristjana Gunnars has received the George Bugnet Award for fiction; the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for poetry; and the McNally Robinson Award for fiction. She’s been nominated for the Books in Canada/Smith Books First Novel Award, and the Governor General’s Award for non-fiction. She has taught at the University of Alberta and Okanagan College.

"If you've never read Sinclair Ross, the Saskatchewan-born writer who helped define prairie realism, give thanks to the University of Alberta Press for this exquisitely produced quality paperback reissue. And if you have, now is the time to reacquaint yourself with one of the most distinct voices in Western Canadian literature....With Sawbones Memorial, he perfectly captures the rhythms and realities of small-town life in the West....(T)he book explores both the generosity and the hateful bigotry found in small towns everywhere. There is tenderness here, and bitterness, too....Also reprinted by the U of A Press are two other Ross novels, Whir of Gold and The Well. Both are dazzling. Marc Horton, The Edmonton Journal