Iain Lawrence was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the second of four children. He studied journalism in Vancouver and went to work for the Prince Rupert Daily News. Eighteen years later, he went to work on a fish farm before he started writing full-time. He learned to sail at the age of nine, and as he grew up, boating became a huge part of his life. He lives with his long-time partner Kristin and dog Skipper on a remote radio-transmission site on an island off Prince Rupert, British Columbia.