Cathy Ostlere was born in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Cathy’s first book, Lost: A Memoir, began as a series of poems but grew into creative non-fiction essays and eventually into a full-length memoir. Essays excerpted from Lost: A Memoir have been shortlisted for the National Magazine Awards, Western Magazine Awards, and CBC Literary Awards. Lost: A Memoir was a finalist for the prestigious 2009 Edna Staebler Creative Non-fiction Award. Her second book, Karma, a verse novel, was released in March 2011.