Marianna Boncek grew up in the Catskill Mountains where she learned to love nature and the stars. She has studied a wide range of disciplines from the esoteric to the traditional. She holds a BA from Vermont College, an MA from Goddard College, a PhD at Union Institute and University and an MFA in Creative Writing. She is currently pursing a degree in Egyptology. She has worked an extremely wide variety of jobs—claims processor, porcelain doll supply representative, gift shop owner and hospital medical records clerk, to name a few—and has spent the last 20+ years as an high school English teacher.

She is an author and writes in several genres. Her two popular non-fiction works The Spooky Hudson Valley and Gone Missing in New York are published by Schiffer Books. Her young adult novel, Ajar, is published by Mélange Books. She has had two of her plays featured in the Hudson Valley Short Play Festival. Her poems have been published in a variety of journals and publications. She is a regular reader in Hudson Valley poetry venues.

Her hobbies include hiking, travelling and searching out the perfect bookstore. She currently lives in the Hudson Valley with her partner, Dave. They spend time researching lost local history, a passion they both share.