[1] Owens was born in Milngavie in 1926 and spent most of her life on the west coast of Scotland[2] Her father worked in a paper mill, and had lost a leg in the First World War.
[1] She did not do well at school and went on to learn typing at college, before she married for the first time to a man who was badly affected by his experiences in the war and drank heavily.
[1] Owens came to attention through a writer's group led by Liz Lochhead in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, visited by Alasdair Gray and James Kelman.
In his postscript to Lean Tales Alasdair Gray describes the early part of Owens' writing career: "Her first novel, Gentlemen of the West, was returned by a publisher who said that he might consider printing it if a famous Scottish comedian said something about it which could be used as an advertisement.
Westclox limited went into liquidation and Agnes did what our dynamic prime minister would do if the Thatcher family had to go on the dole: she hunted for part-time cleaning jobs.