Edie Wright's ancestors were taken from Queensland and relocated in the Kimberley in the early 1900s. Wright was educated at Derby High School and St Brigid's College at Lesmurdie. She continued her studies to complete a Bachelor of Education degree and in 2002 was the principal of the Wangkatjungka remote community school. Her family comes from the north of Western Australia in the early 1900s, and before that, from northern Queensland.
In 1990, she founded Magabala Books, based in Broome in far north Western Australia. Magabala, which has released more the 200 books by 2018, is recognised as one of Australia's most respected small publishing houses and the most prominent Indigenous publishing company in the country.
