Authors & Editors

Roberta Roy, ’58, has published Jolt: A Rural Noir, set in an imaginary part of the northern United States. The novel, a saga of love and survival in the apocalyptic aftermath of a post-nuclear meltdown, is one of courage and hope. Roy’s insightful depiction of how a terrorist mass event affects life for miles beyond its site is well supported by thorough research into the effects of mass events and effective survival skills.

Ellen Datlow, B.A.’71, edited four original anthologies published in 2011: Teeth: Vampire Tales, with Terri Windling (Harper Collins Children); Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy (St. Martin’s Press); Supernatural Noir (Dark Horse Books); and Blood and Other Cravings (Tor). Datlow recently was awarded the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association.

Mary Vigliante Szydlowski, B.A.’71, is the author of a new children’s book, Kia’s Manatee. The story follows a little girl named Kia who discovers an injured manatee swimming in a small debris-filled bay near her home. She worries that the animal won’t survive unless someone gets rid of all the garbage. It’s a big job, but Kia is determined. The book was published in August 2011 by Operation Outreach-USA Press, a nonprofit children’s literacy program that provides books to children and teachers in inner-city and rural classrooms around the country. The book is available on Amazon.com.

Szydlowski has also authored two other children’s books and six adult novels.

Barry Kirschner, B.A.’71, has written and published Bella, a biography by her son. The memoir depicts the life and times of his mother, who was born in what would soon be a battleground village in the Eastern front of World War I. Bella immigrated to the United States in 1930 and lived the rest of her life in New York City. The book is decorated with many lovely period photos and immigration documents.

Randye Kaye, B.A.’73, has published Ben Behind His Voices: One Family’s Journey from the Chaos of Schizophrenia to Hope (Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group). This memoir tells the heartbreaking but uplifting story of the challenges Kaye and her family experienced as they watched the changes in her son, Ben, due to schizophrenia and the joys of his first steps toward recovery. Ben Behind His Voices, described in a recent Publishers Weekly starred review as a “well-written, well-researched, and brutally honest book [which] will provide information, inspiration, and encouragement for many parents,” is a universally relatable story of a family’s struggle, and is especially relevant to anyone working or living with the mentally ill or their families.

Ed Moser, B.A.’77, has published A Patriot’s A to Z of America, a riveting primer for everyone interested in this nation’s past. The work features heroic events and creative individuals who surmounted great difficulties to accomplish great things – traveling to the moon, defeating the Nazis, wiring the planet, settling the first large democratic republic, and largely banishing starvation overseas, among many other feats.

Abby Danziger Donnelly, B.A.’84, a partner with Sandler Training®, was recently recognized for the global release of Networking Works: Building Relationships, Building Business, a book and training program designed to train sales professionals to create a strategic referral system. It is now available in 28 countries and offered exclusively through Sandler Systems. More information: www.training.sandler.com.

Clesson Bush, Ph.D.’87, M.L.S.’92, has published a book with State University Press, Episodes from a Hudson River Town: New Baltimore, New York (August 2011). Bush is the historian for the Town of New Baltimore.

Eric Lowitt, B.S.’95, has written The Future of Value, which tells the story of companies embracing sustainability as a way to succeed in these tough economic times. The book was published in October 2011 by Wiley. Lowitt lives in Boston with his wife, Allegra, and their children, Dana, 6, and Alex, 4.

Ronn Torossian, B.A.’95, the founder and CEO of 5W Public Relations, one of the 25 largest United States public relations firms, has written his debut book, For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results with Game-Changing Public Relations. Torossian discusses the power of public relations in today’s 24/7 media-driven society. Torossian defines great public relations as “making the impersonal personal” and discusses the importance of helping companies define themselves and become game-changers and thought leaders through carefully constructed public relations campaigns.