Lorin Morgan-Richards

Lorin Morgan-Richards
Born	(1975-02-16) 16 February 1975 Beebetown, Ohio
Occupation	Publisher, Author
Known for	Publisher Author Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival Celtic Family Magazine
Spouse(s)	Valerie Stoneking
Website	http://www.lorinrichards.com

Lorin Morgan-Richards (born 16 February 1975) is a publisher of Celtic Family Magazine,^[1] author^[2] and founder of the Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival.^{[3][4] [5][6]}

He is known for founding the Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival, one of the largest Welsh festivals of its kind in the United States, and founding the most widely distributed print publication based in the United States about Celtic cultures and interests.^[7] In 2014 he won the Eisteddfod Honorary Recognition for Bardic Achievements.

Morgan-Richards was born in Beebetown, Ohio and is of Welsh and Swiss (Amish) descent.^[8]

Early life

Richards was raised in an old converted school house in Beebetown, Ohio. His mother (a student of fine art) taught him the basics of drawing and music composition on the family pump organ. Richards also credited his imagination on the plentiful books his family owned, creative isolation, and the sheer number of animals they took care of, many of which he incorporated into his early drawings and writings.^[9] Richards great ancestor was the 19th century Welsh-American poet Robert Dennison Morgan.^[10]

Music background

Between 1993-2003, Richards achieved minor success in producing music projects containing modern dance and theater. In 1999, his solo album ENKI and subsequent live production was based on Zecharia Sitchin's book The Twelfth Planet.^[11][12][13] The show premiered in Cleveland, Ohio under the choreography of Michael Medcalf. In 2001, Richards followed the success of ENKI with the production of An Occurrence Remembered, influenced by the metaphysical war writings of Ambrose Bierce. The performance premiered in New York City.^[14][15]

Writing career

In 2002, Richards moved to Los Angeles to start over where he refocused his artistic direction into writing and illustrating, which he said "did not need the expenses of my past but only a pen and paper."^[16] While his novel Me'ma and the Great Mountain (2012) began drafts as early as 2002, it was Simon Snootle and other small stories that became his first book release in 2009.^[17][18]

Stylistically, Richards prefers a pencil and ink approach to his illustrations and his writing often has elements of dark satire.^[19]

Publishing

A Raven Above Press was founded in 2009 by Richards with a focus on printing his illustrated stories and promoting other authors and illustrators of Celtic origin. The press also became a catalyst for producing cultural events and art exhibits. Notably, the Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival.^[20] On August 1, 2013, Celtic Family Magazine hit the newsstands with a release party in Cardiff, Wales.^[21]

Bibliography

• Simon Snootle and Other small stories (2009)
• A Boy Born from Mold and Other Delectable Morsels (2010)
• A Little Hard to Swallow (2010)
• A Welsh Alphabet (2010)
• The Terribly Mini Monster Book & a Lesser Known Story About a Rare Benign Belbow (2011)
• Me'ma and the Great Mountain (2012)
• Welsh in the Old West (2015)^[22]

References

External Links

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