Martin West was born in Victoria and spent his youth working and living in the Canadian west. His debut novel Long Ride Yellow won the 2018 ReLit Award for Fiction. He was previously a ReLit nominee in the short fiction category in 2016 for his collection Cretacea and Other Stories from the Badlands (recipient of a Gold IPPY award). The title story “Cretacea” was a finalist for the Journey Prize, and his story, “Miss Charlotte”, appeared in the 2017 edition of Best Canadian Stories. His second novel, The Father of Rain, was published in 2023. Martin currently lives in Calgary, Alberta.