Claire Mackay was born in Toronto in 1930 and got married in 1952 after graduating from the University of Toronto with an Honours B.A. in political science. She has three sons. She did postgrad work in social work and rehabilitation counselling at the University of British Columbia during 1967-68, and at the University of Manitoba in 1971. Her jobs have included: waitress, shoe clerk, research librarian, and medical social worker. She was a writer-in-the-libraries in Toronto in 1987, and a freelance writer since 1978.
