R. Lynn Bruning

My mother read me picturebooks that introduced me to worlds of whimsy and musical language. My father read me works by Tolkien, Lewis, and Wangerin—books that enchanted me with visions of ancient trees, dragons, and creatures with big hearts, great courage, and painful flaws.

Fairy tales, music, scripture, and history—especially that of the Czechlands, where my forebears roamed—have danced together in my imagination all my life, inciting a passion for Beauty that compels me to create.

In my writing, I explore the archetypal characters and relationships of folk and fairy lore and reimagine classic tales in modern historical contexts. Armed only with language, I often probe music, an element of creation that I can liken to nothing else—except magic.

I earned BA and MSE degrees in English at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas and an MFA in Writing for Children at Simmons University in Boston, Massachusetts. In Arkansas, I work, play, and ramble alongside my husband, Isaac, and our dog, Wilco.