Kirk Ward Robinson, a four-time Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, was born and raised in south Texas and has since lived in every continental American time zone. He is an inveterate hiker and cyclist, which is how he prefers to travel and explore the world. His wide-ranging career has included roles as a chief operating officer, bookstore manager, stagehand, bicycle mechanic, and executive director of an educational non-profit organization in cooperation with the National Park Service. Robinson has been twice named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books: in 2012 for Life in Continuum, and in 2015 for The Appalachian. He earned five stars from Foreword Clarion Reviews for his novel The Latter Half of Inglorious Years.

These days he maintains a small ancestral farm in the hills of Tennessee.