Born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to Scandinavian parents, Irene Howard (1922-2023) devoted her writing career to combining her interest in labour and immigrant history with her love of literature. She was an English instructor and had broadcast talks for the CBC and written articles and essays for Canadian magazines and journals. She authored several books, including The Struggle for Social Justice in British Columbia: Helena Gutteridge, the Unknown Reformer, which in 1993 won the University of British Columbia Silver Medal for Canadian Biography and was shortlisted for a City of Vancouver Book Award and the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize.