Glenn Erick Miller spent much of his childhood exploring the woods — both those that surround the working-class neighborhoods of central New York and those of the Adirondack Mountains, where the Miller clan, ten strong, would camp for several weeks each summer.
While he and his brothers hiked, biked, and sled through the woods, Glenn imagined rich stories of adventure: a family lost in a raging blizzard, soldiers infiltrating enemy territory, explorers battling dragons and orcs. He was drawn to comic books and tales of sports and war, all of which influenced him to fill notebooks with his own illustrated stories.
In high school and college, he began to write even more — composing poems and song lyrics and incorporating text into many of his illustrations. This shift was spurred by exposure to diverse music and literature as well as the sobering realization that paper and a pen were a lot cheaper than canvas and oil paints.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from SUNY Oswego, Glenn worked with at-risk youth. As a program coordinator, counselor, and teacher, he had the opportunity to grow close to many young people. Their stories of poverty, abuse, and hope in the face of hardship helped to deepen his storytelling.
A few years later, at Binghamton University, Glenn completed a novel for his creative thesis. Though he hadn’t yet heard the term ‘young adult literature,’ his path toward writing for young readers was set. He earned his Master of Arts degree in English and since then has taught college courses in literature and composition. Meanwhile, he has developed interests in photography and classical guitar and has started two small businesses.
Nature continues to be a central part of much of Glenn’s writing. He is the recipient of the 2017 Florida SCBWI Rising Kite Award, a first-place prize in the Adirondack Writing Center’s annual awards, and a Pushcart Prize nomination. His work has appeared in literary journals such as Citron Review, Agave Magazine, Heater, Fiction Fix, r.kv.r.y Quarterly, and Red Earth Review. His picture book, Red’s First Snow, will be published in 2019.
Though he now makes his home in Florida, Glenn explores the woods of his youth as often as he can. In addition to teaching, he volunteers as an ESL tutor, a youth mentor, and a reader for the visually impaired.
