Steph West's love affair with storytelling started early in life. Her mother recounts how West would tell stories to herself in the backseat of the car as early as age five! It progressed to the third grade with the short story "The Great Hershey Bar Escape" followed by West selling twenty hand-written copies of a newspaper for five cents a copy on the playground. West's love of words and worlds evolved into an award-winning career as a journalist, screenwriter, and author, where she carefully constructs beautifully imperfect characters within hauntingly familiar landscapes.

West is also a publisher at Red Fern Press, where she released her first book in 2023, a memoir titled "On Fire", which received rave reviews and accolades from readers and critics alike. Her debut novel "Newcross" is an action-adventure fantasy that explores the themes of family love and turbulence and human connection in an Appalachian setting.

In addition to her literary pursuits, West is also a creative producer, director, and screenwriter at Eleven One Productions, where she has produced and directed several short films that have been nominated and selected for various festivals and awards.

West holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Ashland University, and has completed courses from the Sundance Institute Collab and the New York Film Academy. She is an advocate for women and equality, and strives to inspire and empower others through her stories AND the creation process of those stories.