Ronnie Hess is a poet and non-fiction writer, the author of four poetry chapbooks (Whole Cloth; Ribbon of Sand; A Woman in Vegetable; O Is for Owl) and two culinary travel guides (Eat Smart in France and Eat Smart in Portugal, both from Ginkgo Press). She grew up in New York City, attended the Lycée Français de New York and Julia Richman High School, and graduated from Hunter College, the City University of New York. She earned a master's degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was a Knight Fellow (then Professional Journalism Fellow) at Stanford University and has received other journalism awards. She lives in Madison, WI where three canoes hang in her boathouse.