Ruth Ann Ochs Webster was born and raised in Covington, Kentucky, a town on the Ohio River--the edge of the South. The location sparked a lifelong interest in both history and travel.

Ruth now lives in metro Pittsburgh, near the confluence of the two rivers that form the Ohio. She is a retired National Board-Certified Teacher, having specialized in language arts and social studies. Her teaching career spanned from early elementary through adult education in Appalachian Maryland.

Ruth is an avid amateur historian and genealogist, member of museums and societies throughout the Eastern United States.

 

Publications and Awards:

Past Five Years

• 2020 Cousins at War--First Place in "Novel Opening" category, Kentucky Monthly Magazine Annual Literary Contest.
• 2019 Cousins at War -- Ancestrals (Tree Shadow Press)
• 2019 Celebrate: a Collection of Life's Celebrations (Contributor) -- Debra R. Sanchez, Ed. (Tree Shadow Press)
• 2018 Jesse: 53rd Kentucky -- Ancestrals (Tree Shadow Press)
• 2017 The Authors Zone (TAZ): First Place in Historical Fiction for Henry: The Jersey Brigade
• 2017 Henry: The Jersey Brigade - Ancestrals (Tree Shadow Press)
• The Loyalhanna Review 2017
• Writing Success Conference "Novel Beginning" First Place: Jesse 53rd Kentucky
• Writing Success Conference "Blog Post" Third Place
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - personal essays

Earlier:

• Backbone Mountain Review - 2013 Fiction Prize
• Allegany Magazine - personal memoir
• Stanier Prize - Pittsburgh International Children's Festival - 2009 - collaborator on Harmony Street.
• The Cumberland Times-News - Bi-weekly columnist, seven  years.
• Drum Corps World - feature writer.