For many years Marc Harshman taught fifth and sixth grades at the Sand Hill School, one of the last of the three-room country schools. Raised in Indiana, he has lived his adult life in West Virginia with his wife, Cheryl Ryan who is an artist, children's author, and librarian. His daughter, Sarah Jayne, is pursuing graduate studies at The Pratt Institute. The author of three chapbooks of poetry, he is also a well-known writer of children's picture books. His children's titles have been published in Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Danish, and Swedish. The Storm was a Junior Library Guild selection, a Smithsonian Notable Book for Children, and a Parent's Choice Award recipient. He has also received the WV Arts Commission Fellowship in Poetry and subsequently the Fellowship in Children's Literature. He holds degrees from Bethany College, Yale University Divinity School, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Short prose works have won awards from Newport Review and Literal Latté. Anthology publication of poems include Kent State University, the University of Iowa, University of Georgia, and the University of Arizona. He has also served as an instructor for the historic Appalachian Writers Workshop at the Hindman Settlement School in Hindman, KY. On May 18, 2012 Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced that he has appointed Marc Harshman as the new Poet Laureate for West Virginia in recognition of his work in both poetry and children's books.