Born into a poor upbringing, Owens struggled academically and never earned an undergraduate degree. After the death of her first husband, a war veteran, she worked as a typist, factory worker and cleaner before marrying again and raising seven children.
Her debut collection, Gentlemen of the West (1984), appeared when she was 58. Owens was discovered by a local writing group, where she met visiting writers James Kelman, Alasdair Gray and Liz Lochhead. Kelman, in particular, recognised her talent and later described her upbringing as “poor, but not uncommonly so.”
In 1994, Owens released A Working Mother, an autobiographical novel that follows the domestic life of narrator Betty. The book explores the chaos of raising children amid substance abuse, trauma and poverty, and portrays the couple’s relationship as a mix of melancholy and comic resilience.
Critics note Owens’ stylistic blend of staccato sentences and simple, almost aphoristic prose, which contrasts with Kelman’s Glasgow dialect. Both writers champion colloquialism rooted in socialist principles rather than nationalist sentiment.
Owens’ work has been described as a “surreal” depiction of everyday life, with ordinary events—such as losing an umbrella or running to the shop for a bottle—given equal narrative weight. Her characters navigate a world of limited choice, yet Owens portrays their agency with subtle irony and keen intelligence.