Me

Frederic S. Durbin grew up in the countryside of rural Illinois, where he spent his childhood exploring the fields and climbing trees, usually barefoot, immersed in the stories contained in books. His parents opened the town’s first bookstore, and his mother created the libraries for the four local elementary schools and served as head librarian there after many years of teaching fourth grade. As a student, FSD particularly enjoyed acting in musicals and performing with the band and chorus. He attended Concordia College, River Forest, Illinois (now Concordia University Chicago), where he majored in classical languages, devoured English literature and ancient mythology, edited the fine arts page of the college newspaper, and graduated summa cum laude. He traveled to Japan as a church volunteer, then taught English and creative writing at Niigata University for over twenty years. In summer 2011, he relocated to Pittsburgh, where he was fascinated by the bridges and the meandering city stairways; he believes the forested hills must be full of stories that need telling. He married in 2013; he and his wife reside among the wooded hills of western Pennsylvania. The author of four published novels and many short stories for adults and children, he has conducted literary interpretive programs and creative writing workshops for students of all grade levels. In recent years, he has served as a co-editor of the fiction anthology series COLD HARD TYPE, published by Loose Dog Press. His novel A Green and Ancient Light was named a Year’s Best Fantasy by Publishers Weekly and a Reading List Honor Book by the American Library Association.

To contact me: mothkinf@hotmail.com.