Richard B. Wright was a novelist, whose stories dealt with the lives of ordinary people. His 2001 novel Clara Callan won the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General's Literary Award and the Trillium Book Prize. Following this win, Wright gained more recognition for his work.

Prior to his breakout release, he published The Age of Longing, which was shortlisted for the 1995 Giller Prize and nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award. In 2007, he was made a member of the Order of Canada. He is also the author of A Life of Words, Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard, October and Adultery. Nightfall was the last book he ever published. It was released in February 2017.

He died in February 2017.