Kanovich was born into a traditional Jewish family in the Lithuanian town of Jonava on 18 June 1929.
At the age of twelve, with the outbreak of the Second World War on the Eastern Front, Kanovich became a refugee, fleeing with his parents through Latvia to Russia, where the family spent the rest of the war.
In 1955 Kanovich launched his literary career, publishing a volume of verse, 'Good Morning', followed in 1960 by 'Spring Thunder'.
He wrote a number of successful screenplays, including working on 'Ava Vita' with Vytautas Žalakevičius.
Kanovich wrote more than ten novels, among them, trilogy Candles in the Wind and novels Fools’ Tears and Prayers, Smile Upon Us, Lord, A Kid for Two Pennies, There is No Paradise for Slaves, Don’t Turn your Face from Death, The Jewish Park, The Rustle of Fallen Trees, The Devil’s Spell and Shtetl Love Song which won Book of the Year Archived 2021-05-16 at the Wayback Machine in Lithuania.