Stef Penney is a film-maker and writer.

She grew up in the Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 capital and turned to film-making after a degree in Philosophy and Theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 from Bristol University. She made three short films before studying Film and TV at Bournemouth College of Art, and on graduation was selected for the Carlton Television

Carlton Television

Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,...

 New Writers Scheme. She has also written and directed two short films; a BBC 10 x 10 starring Anna Friel

Anna Friel

Anna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...

 and a Film Council Digital Short in 2002 starring Lucy Russell

Lucy Russell (actress)

Lucy Russell is an English actress, possibly best known for starring as Grace Elliott in Éric Rohmer's L'Anglaise et le duc . Her first starring role was in Christopher Nolan's Following...

.

She won the 2006 Costa Book Awards

2006 Costa Book Awards

The Costa Book of the Year shortlist was announced on 10 January 2007 and the final results at a ceremony held on 7 February 2007.-Book of the Year:*Stef Penney, The Tenderness of Wolves-Children's Book:Winner:*Linda Newbery, Set in StoneShortlist:...

 and The Book-of-the-Month Club First Fiction Award with her debut novel

Debut novel

A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...

 The Tenderness of Wolves which is set in Canada in the 1860s. The novel starts with the discovery of the murder of a trapper, and then follows various events that occur as the murderer is sought. As Stef Penney suffered from agoraphobia

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from which it is perceived to be difficult to escape. These situations can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions...

 at the time of writing this novel, she did all the research in the libraries

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

of London and never visited Canada.