Ryan Byrnes was born in North Dakota on a nuclear missile base during a tornado. He grew up in a military family in various towns in Ohio and Illinois, and he graduated from Iowa State University in 2020 after studying engineering and English. He attended the NYU Summer Publishing Institute in 2023.

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His first historical fiction novel, Royal Beauty Bright, won a gold medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards and was a finalist in the 2019 Foreword Reviews INDIE Awards. 

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His short stories range from literary fiction to science fiction and have been published in December, Pembroke, Sixfold, Italian America, and more.

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His second historical fiction novel, My Dear Antonio, is forthcoming in March 2024 and will tell the immigration story of his great grandparents.

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Ryan originally worked as a technical writer drafting manuals for ATMs, construction vehicles, forestry vehicles, and smart home tech companies. Currently he lives in New York City, where he works as a book editor at Apress.

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Favorite Books: The Grapes of Wrath, Our Souls at Night, Walden, Les Misérables, Lord of the Rings, Because of Winn Dixie, Swamplandia!