Richard Horan

Bio

Richard Horan is an award-winning fiction writer and educator, as well as a book reviewer, and travel writer. Mr. Horan has lived and taught all over the world. His most recent job was as a writing instructor at the State University of New York at Oswego. Prior to that he taught English in the Wisconsin public school system, and overseas with the Department of Defense. He was stationed in both Belgium and South Korea. He has also worked as a Sports Information Director and as an adjunct ESL, writing, and journalism instructor at numerous colleges throughout New England. He also lived and taught for two years in a private school in Parma, Italy. After graduating from Boston University in 1981, he peregrinated throughout the United States before settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While there, he wrote extensively and worked as a nurse’s aide in a mental hospital; it was that experience which gave him the material to write his first published novel, Life in the Rainbow. During college he worked as a night-time orderly in a Boston hospital, and during the same period of time he fought professionally throughout the United States and Canada as a middleweight boxer. He is married with two daughters ages 20 and 16. He and his wife are family-care providers for cognitively disabled adults who live with them in their home. His wife Mary is a jazz vocalist who has sung professionally around the world. She toured with the Serendipity Singers back in the 1980s; later, she toured with the SHAPE International big band throughout Europe. Both of his daughters are musicians. Mr. Horan’s first novel, Life in the Rainbow (Steerforth Press, 1996), was lauded by Larry McMurtry, who wrote: “Life in the Rainbow is a moving book and Richard Horan is an original voice, one to listen for.” Alan Cheuse of “All Things Considered” reviewed it on April 3, 1996. Life in the Rainbow also received rave reviews from The New York Times, The Boston Book Review, The Christian Science Monitor, Publisher’s Weekly, The Kirkus Review, The Stamford Advocate, and more. Mr. Horan’s second novel, Goose Music (Steerforth Press, 2001), was again blurbed by Larry McMurtry who opined: “Goose Music is funny, moving, convincing, original. Richard Horan is only getting better.” It was reviewed favorably by The San Francisco Chronicle, Publisher’s Weekly, The Capitol Times, The Milwaukee Journal, and others. It won numerous awards. His latest work, SEEDS: One Man’s Journey to Find America’s Literary Trees, will be published by Harper Collins and is due out in 2010. Awards: Barnes and Noble “New Voices” recipient for Life in the Rainbow 1996 Book Sense 76 top-ten selection July/August 2001, Goose Music Foreword Magazine “Book of the Year,” Bronze Award Winner, Goose Music Great Lakes “Book of the Year” Award, Finalist, Goose Music 2001 Council for Wisconsin Writer’s Ann Powers Book-Length Fiction Award, First Place, Goose Music 2001 Wisconsin Library Association “Outstanding Achievement” Goose Music 2002 Southeastern Wisconsin Educator of the year award, First Place Education: B.A. Boston University M.A.T. University of Pittsburgh.