Lorin Morgan-Richards

Lorin Morgan-Richards
File:Lorin Morgan-Richards in Cardiff, Wales.jpg
Born	(1975-02-16) 16 February 1975 Beebetown, Ohio
Occupation	Publisher, Author, Cartoonist
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 an author and illustrator, publisher of Celtic Family Magazine, and founder of the Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival.

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. 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.

Early years

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.

Richards interest in Native American and American Western history began in childhood. “I remember my first book as a child was The Indians Knew by Tillie S. Pine, an early reader from 1965 explaining the cultural ways and historical resourcefulness of Native Americans and how they are applied in the sciences today.”

When Richards entered second grade he was diagnosed with a form of dyslexia that required tutoring through the ninth grade. By his early teens, he was reading and became inspired by Edward Lear, L. Frank Baum, Roald Dahl, and Lewis Carroll; helping him overcome his reading disability.

Richards great ancestor was the 19th century Welsh-American poet Robert Dennison Morgan. Robert's father (Richards direct ancestor) John Morgan left the Tredegar area of Wales and emigrated to southern Ohio in the early part of the 1800s.

Music background

File:Still photo from NYC Premiere of 'An Occurrence Remembered' directed by Lorin Morgan-Richards, 2001.jpg

Still photo from NYC Premiere of An Occurrence Remembered directed by Lorin Morgan-Richards, 2001

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. 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.

Writing career

File:Cover of paperback version of 'A Boy Born from Mold' by Lorin Morgan-Richards, 2014.jpg

Cover of A Boy Born from Mold

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." 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.

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

In 2015 Richards began two weekly cartoons on Steamkat.com, a comic strip site, The Goodbye Family and The Noodle Rut.

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. On August 1, 2013, Celtic Family Magazine hit the newsstands with a release party in Cardiff, Wales.

The logo for A Raven Above Press displays a raven atop a bending cypress tree. Model Wednesday Mourning has appeared in the main ad for A Raven Above Press, as well as Morgan-Richards daughter in her Welsh traditional dress.

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)
• Dark Letter Days: Collected Works (2016)

Discography

Solo studio albums

Year	Title
1999	ENKI
2001	An Occurrence Remembered
2002	We See But Dimly
2010	Orpheus

Audiobooks

Year	Title
2010	A Boy Born from Mold and Other Delectable Morsels (Read by Jason Shepherd, introduction by Seongje Hwang and Tae Sung Jie)
2012	Simon Snootle and Other Small Stories (Read by Jason Shepherd, introduction by Jay & Jaywest, and Tae Sung Jie)
2012	A Welsh Alphabet (Read by Jason Shepherd)

Collaborative albums

Year	Title
1994	1991:94
1998	Graven Image – Black Lung Cathedral (Jevan Records)
2009	Graven Image – Early Demos and Live Tracks

Compilation albums

Year	Title
2001	Notes From Thee Real Underground IV (Underground Inc.)
2002	Mutations: Tribute to Alice Cooper (Underground Inc.)