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By Sydney Crone
For many people, their hometown represents friends and family, reminds them of fond memories, evokes nostalgia, and can even inspire them to create. Where you’re from often plays a key role in who you are now and who you will become. Here are some local authors and their works, which you should definitely investigate further!
Victoria Zeller is a local author whose debut novel One of the Boys was published in May of 2025. The book centers around a high school football player who is early in her transition, navigating gender, social norms, and her love of her sport. This is such a significant story for Zeller to have written because she is transgender herself. She is also a Kenmore West and Canisius College graduate. It's so cool that someone from our very own Blue Devil family has been able to write such an important story. Zeller is also known for her sports writing on Defector.com, which I recommend checking out!
Two local authors are also professors at Canisius College! Eric Gansworth teaches both Creative Writing and Literature courses and has published a few titles. Some include: If I Ever Get Out of Here, Apple: Skin to the Core, Give Me Some Truth, and Mending Skins. Something interesting about Gansworth is an Onondaga of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and was born and raised in the Tuscarora Nation.
Secondly, Mick Cochrane is also a professor at Canisius, where he teaches many writing courses, such as Introduction to Creative Writing and Literary Publishing. His most prolific title is the YA novel The Girl Who Threw Butterflies. His novel Sport was once part of the Ken West English reading curriculum. I highly recommend checking out both of these authors!
Roberta Worthington, who you might know better by her married name, Mrs. Merkling, is also a local author! She is a retired English teacher from Kenmore West, and some of you might have even had her! She has published three novels: Eye of the Peacock, Relic, and The Battle for Periphery. If you’d like to support another member of the Ken West staff, her titles can be checked out of our school’s library!
Author Wendy Corsi Staub’s mystery series Lily Dale was published in the early 2000s. What’s interesting about this series is that Lily Dale is a real place located in Western New York! South of Fredonia, the area is highly connected to the Spiritualism movement, which connects to Cosi Staub’s paranormal mystery series. There are a few titles in the series, and you should definitely check them out.
I highly recommend looking into these local authors and supporting their writing!
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