Ross Klatte was born in Minneapolis and grew up on his parents' dairy farm west of the city. He served a hitch in the US Navy as a journalist, and after obtaining a degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota, worked in that profession in Chicago and Detroit before emigrating with his wife, April, to Canada in 1971. He is the author of Leaving the Farm (Oolichan Books, 2007), a memoir, whose opening chapter years earlier won first prize in the personal essay division of the annual CBC Literary Competition. In 2011, for a short story previously published in The New Orphic Review, he was shortlisted for Canada's Journey Prize. He and his wife live on a mountainside near Nelson, BC, and despite advancing age continue to enjoy hikes in their beautiful part of the world as well as winter escapes to Mexico.