Sonia Tilson was born in Swansea, South Wales, and educated at Monmouth School for Girls and Swansea University. She married and immigrated to Canada in 1964 and has lived mostly in Ottawa, teaching English up to university level. Her first book, The Monkey Puzzle Tree, was published by Biblioasis in 2013, and was nominated for the Metcalf-Rooke Award in 2012 and for the Ottawa Book Award in 2014.