Photo credit: Nathan Burton 

Marianne Monson is a women's history author known for unearthing remarkable stories of incredible women. She is the author of twelve books for children and adults, with an emphasis on frontier-era women's history. She is a regular contributor to Rain Magazine, Hipfish, and Coast Weekend.  Her nonfiction book Frontier Grit was nominated for the American Library Association's Amelia Bloomer award. The companion volume, Women of the Blue and Gray was released in 2018 and was awarded a silver medal by Foreword Reviews. Her newest historical fiction novel, The Opera Sisters, is based on the true story of Ida and Louise Cook, who helped refugees escape from Nazi Germany. 

Marianne holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has taught writing at Portland Community College, BYU Hawaii, Clatsop Community College, and Texas State University. She is founder and president of a literary nonprofit, The Writer's Guild, and divides her time between San Marcos, Texas and her 100-year-old house in Astoria, Oregon.