Eva Stachniak was born in Wroclaw, Poland. She emigrated to Canada in 1981, on scholarship to McGill University in Montreal. In Poland she taught English Literature at the University of Wroclaw. Her first short story appeared in the Antigonish Review in 1994. Her acclaimed debut novel, Necessary Lies, won the Amazon.com/Books in Canada First Novel Award. A communications professor at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Eva Stachniak lives in Toronto and is working on her third novel.