About Rus VW

Rus VanWestervelt received his undergraduate degree from Towson University and, more recently, his Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College.

He has been teaching at Towson University (Maryland) for 10 years; in addition, he has taught at Centennial High School in Ellicott City for 7 years and has been working with students for over 20 years in middle, high school, undergraduate, and graduate programs throughout the state of Maryland, specializing in English, writing, publications, photography, and theater. As a Teacher-Consultant with the Maryland Writing Project, he has been trained to work with teachers and writers in finding creative and strategic ways to infuse writing into any curriculum, specializing in metacognitive approaches to the teaching of writing.

Outside of teaching, Rus writes daily, publishing both fiction and creative nonfiction in local and regional publications, such as Baltimore’s Urbanite Magazine. He is currently working on his third novel, Postcards from Carraway Station, which he hopes to have in production by the end of summer 2009.

Rus is also the founder of Maryland Voices, a publication established in 2001 and now in its seventh volume. Maryland Voices publishes creative nonfiction written by Maryland’s high school writers. For more information about Maryland Voices and how you can get involved (and published), please follow the link on our navigation bar.

Most recently, Rus founded Ravenwater Press. Ravenwater is a small publisher that seeks to print works by local and regional authors who are interested in making a difference with their writing. Ravenwater’s first title, I’m Still Trying To Figure It All Out Myself, by Larry Cohen, will be available in May 2009.

Rus is available for speaking engagements and workshops in writing and publishing. Contact him directly at theoldmanse@gmail.com or at 443-834-9489.