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Lorin Morgan-Richards | |
|---|---|
| Morgan-Richards in 2016 | |
| Born | February 16, 1975 Beebetown, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author poet cartoonist playwright composer publisher animator historian |
| Education | Cuyahoga Community College (AA), California State University, Los Angeles (BA) |
| Genre | Young adult fiction, Weird West, Gothic Western, Gothic fiction, Western, short stories, humor, surrealism, literary nonsense, supernatural fiction |
| Notable works | The Goodbye Family , Me'ma and the Great Mountain , A Boy Born from Mold and Other Delectable Morsels , Simon Snootle and Other Small Stories , Imperfectualism |
| Spouse | Valerie Stoneking |
| Children | 1 |
| Signature | |
| | |
| Website | |
| lorinrichards | |
Lorin Morgan-Richards (born February 16, 1975) is an American author, illustrator, [1] and songwriter, [2] [3] [4] primarily known for his young adult fiction and Gothic Western comedy series The Goodbye Family . [5]
Morgan-Richards served as the publisher of Celtic Family Magazine , [6] and was the founder of the Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival, a Welsh festival in the U.S. [7] [8] [9] [10]
Morgan-Richards was born in Beebetown, Ohio, and is of Swiss (Amish) and Welsh descent.[ citation needed ]
Morgan-Richards was raised in a converted one-room schoolhouse in Beebetown, Ohio. His mother (a student of fine art) taught him the basics of drawing and music composition on the family pump organ. His family owned animals that they cared for, many of which he incorporated into his early drawings and writings. [11]
Morgan-Richards' interest in Native American and American Western history began in childhood. [12]
When Morgan-Richards entered second grade, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. By his early teens, however, he was reading. [13]
In 1990, at the age of 15, Morgan-Richards wrote and produced his first film entitled The Cowboy Movie.[ citation needed ] Between 1993 and 2003 Morgan-Richards received an AA Degree in Liberal Arts at Cuyahoga Community College.[ citation needed ]
During his time at Cuyahoga, Morgan-Richards produced music projects containing modern dance and theater, and befriended and collaborated with artist Textbeak.[ citation needed ] He moved to Lakewood, Ohio. [14] In 1999, Morgan-Richards solo album ENKI and subsequent live production were based on Zecharia Sitchin's book The Twelfth Planet . [15] [16] [17] The show premiered in Cleveland, Ohio.[ citation needed ] In 2001, Morgan-Richards produced An Occurrence Remembered, influenced by the metaphysical war writings of Ambrose Bierce. The performance premiered in New York City. [18] [19] He lost money on the production. [20]
Morgan-Richards wrote synth music meant for dramatic performance. [21]
In 2002, Morgan-Richards moved to Los Angeles to refocus his artistic direction into writing and illustrating. [22] Simon Snootle and Other Small Stories was his first book release in 2009. [23] [24]
The following year Morgan-Richards published his second book of short stories in A Boy Born from Mold and Other Delectable Morsels .
[File:Orphie Goodbye Family Lorin Morgan-Richards.jpg|thumb|Orphie from The Goodbye Family by Lorin Morgan-Richards]] Most of the characters from The Goodbye Family [25] were first mentioned in Morgan-Richards' western novel Me'ma and the Great Mountain.[ citation needed ]
Between 2009 and 2013, Morgan-Richards was bookbinding his limited edition versions of each title.[ citation needed ] He stated: "I wanted to provide the reader with a book ... that can last for generations."
Morgan-Richards prefers to illustrate with a pencil and ink; his writing often has elements of dark satire and an environmental message. [26]
Between 2015 and 2018 Morgan-Richards ran two weekly cartoons on Steamkat, a comic strip site, The Goodbye Family and The Noodle Rut. [27] Morgan-Richards won the 2016 Official Tasty Nugget award for his illustrated story Sad Lost Doll. [28]
Since 2018, Morgan-Richards has syndicated his series The Goodbye Family on Tapas as well as through his social media. [29] In 2021, Morgan-Richards created The Goodbye Family: The Animated Series. [30]
Morgan-Richards has released his comic collections on a nearly quarterly basis, solely focusing on The Goodbye Family and his Weird West brand. He planned an early 2020 release of his second novel The Goodbye Family and the Great Mountain .[ citation needed ]
Morgan-Richards has produced and directed several documentaries relating to the American Frontier experience and Welsh American stories. In fiction, Morgan-Richards created The Goodbye Family: The Animated Series, based on his Weird West characters, which has received such accolades as one of the top ten best animated TV series in 2022 by New York Magazine. [31] He has also created several animated short films.
On August 21, 2024, Morgan-Richards privately screened his first animated short film, Poor Poor Eldon, at the J. Paul Getty Museum during the Getty Underground show. [32] The film was premiered on April 1, 2025, at the Beverly Hills Film Festival. As with his other projects,[ citation needed ] Morgan-Richards took on the roles of producer, director, and animator for the film. Poor Poor Eldon features a score composed and performed by Joshua Kovarik and Textbeak. [33] [34]
Morgan-Richards made a second short film called The Decline and Fall of Holly Dew and Walter Melon, with a soundtrack scored by Textbeak and Kovarik. [35] The film has begun its run on the festival circuit.[ citation needed ]
A Raven Above Press was founded in 2009 by Morgan-Richards with a focus on printing his illustrated stories and promoting other authors and illustrators of Celtic and Native American origin.[ citation needed ] The press also produced cultural events and art exhibits. Notably, the Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival. [36] On August 1, 2013, Celtic Family Magazine was published. [11] Morgan-Richards was the founder and publisher of Celtic Family Magazine from its inception in 2013 to its hiatus in 2017.
The logo for A Raven Above Press displays a raven atop a bending cypress tree. Model Wednesday Mourning appeared in the main ad for A Raven Above Press, [37] as well as Morgan-Richards daughter Berlin in her traditional Welsh dress.
Morgan-Richards produced a book for every Welsh event he curated through A Raven Above Press[ citation needed ]. Outside of including his own illustration, these books often had American and Welsh artists depict the subject matter.[ citation needed ] Notable artists involved included Ruth Jên, Siobhan Owen, Monica Richards, Nichola and Sarah Hope, and Nathan Wyburn. The following is a list of these books:[ citation needed ]
Morgan-Richards recalls that at school he saw a photo of Custer and another of an elderly man, who turned out to be Miniconjou chief Spotted Elk (Bigfoot) at the massacre at Wounded Knee and says that he felt that the textbook did not give "the full story". [20]
In 2004, Morgan-Richards worked at the Southwest Museum of the American Indian while pursuing his B.A. in Cultural Anthropology at California State University, Los Angeles with a focus on Native American studies. [38]
Between 2008 and 2012, Morgan-Richards partnered with Native American and Indigenous groups in Los Angeles to establish Bringing the Circle Together , [39] [40] a free monthly film series hosted at the Japanese American National Museum. The series offered a central gathering place to screen documentaries by and about Indigenous people while providing historical narratives with guest speakers, and art and cultural demonstrations. Special guests included Makana, Saginaw Grant, Douglas Miles, Blase Bonpane, among others.
The film series in partnership with AIM Santa Barbara held a community birthday celebration at Nahui Ohlin in Los Angeles for Leonard Peltier on September 12, 2009, with an update on his status and how the public could get involved to petition his release. Morgan-Richards spoke to a reporter: "This is all grassroots. Everyone's voice counts. The time is now because Barack Obama, our president, had said it's not the president that actually makes the change, it's going to be our pressure upon the president that will make the change." [41] The event was followed in December by a screening of Warrior: The Life of Leonard Peltier with discussion afterward by Ben Carnes, members of AIM Santa Barbara, as well as friends and family. [42]
History was made at the film series on February 25, 2010, at the screening of Lost Nation: The Ioway when representatives of the Southern Ioway and Northern Ioway tribes gathered with Tongva leaders, making it the first time a meeting took place between Southern California and Midwestern Native American Nations. [43] [44]
Morgan-Richards became heavily involved in the Welsh-American community after the closure of the Welsh Presbyterian Church in December 2012.[ citation needed ] Before this, Morgan-Richards had helped coordinate an Eisteddfod at Barnsdall Art Park in 2011. Feeling a need to fill the void of losing the church as a cultural center, Morgan-Richards founded the Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival, an annual event taking place on or around March 1 celebrating Wales. The first festival took place on March 1, 2013. Singer and harpist Siobhan Owen headlined the large-scale event. In conjunction with the festival, Morgan-Richards began producing Celtic Family Magazine, a nationally distributed print and digital publication on Celtic interests. [45]
Imperfectualism is an anti-art treatise by Lorin Morgan-Richards, using the pen name Marcil d'Hirson Garron, and first published in January 2020. [46] Morgan-Richards defines Impefectualism as art that cannot be easily replicated by machine. An imperfectualist looks to slow automation through their art. [47] The theme of Imperfectualism is the art of being imperfect. Morgan-Richards used automatic drawing as a means of producing the work where conscious control is suppressed. [48]
In several interviews, Morgan-Richards mentioned being influenced by the Dadaists and Surrealists. [49]
Morgan-Richards considers himself a Spiritualist, stating that:
After a lifetime of witnessing spirit communication and most remarkably of that spirit I have seen firsthand, some in very close proximity, I feel I need to announce my path closely aligns with Spiritualism, or more precisely Spiritism and its view of reincarnation. [50] In relation to his art, Morgan-Richards states: My imagination helps see the past come to life as if watching a theater production put on by spirits. [51]
Morgan-Richards has created original content and retold classic stories with his illustration for social media.
The following are classic stories illustrated by Lorin Morgan-Richards
Albums released under the name Elder Moon or Lorin Morgan-Richards
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1999 | ENKI |
| 2001 | An Occurrence Remembered |
| 2002 | We See But Dimly |
| 2010 | Orpheus |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Notes From Thee Real Underground IV (Underground, Inc.) |
| 2002 | Mutations: Tribute to Alice Cooper (Underground, Inc.) |
Albums released under the name Lorin Morgan-Richards
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2010 | A Boy Born from Mold and Other Delectable Morsels (Read by Jason Shepherd, introduction by Seongje Hwang and Tae Sung Jie) |
| 2012 | Simon Snootle and Other Small Stories (Read by Jason Shepherd, introduction by Seongje Hwang and Tae Sung Jie) |
| 2012 | A Welsh Alphabet (Read by Jason Shepherd) |
| 2018 | The Dreaded Summons and Other Misplaced Bills (Read by Jason Shepherd, introduction by Jay Hwang and Jie TS) |
| 2022 | The Goodbye Family and the Great Mountain (Read and foreword by Richard-Lael Lillard) |
| 2023 | Me'ma and the Great Mountain (Read by Jessica Rose Felix, foreword by Corine Fairbanks) |
Albums released with associated acts
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 1991:94 |
| 1998 | Graven Image – Black Lung Cathedral. Released on Jevan Records. |
| 2009 | Graven Image – Early Demos and Live Tracks |
EPs and Singles released with associated acts
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2021 | The Goodbye Family, EP, produced and mixed by Chopper Franklin, lyrics by Lorin Morgan-Richards, vocals by Mather Louth and music by the Heathen Apostles. [54] Featuring songs Sew it up, Get Outta Dodge, and Lake of Fire (instrumental). Released on Ratchet Blade Records. |
| 2023 | Gothic Western Haunt, Single, produced and mixed by Chopper Franklin, lyrics by Lorin Morgan-Richards, vocals by Mather Louth and music by Heathen Apostles. Released on Ratchet Blade Records. [55] |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Do Ye the Little Things in Life: St. David's Day Festival-National Day of Wales 2013 | Self | A Raven Above Press, documentary short by Lorin Morgan-Richards, featuring Siobhan Owen at the 2013 Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival. |
| 2022 | Celt: Live in Hollywood | Self | A Raven Above Press, documentary short by Lorin Morgan-Richards, featuring Meinir Gwilym at the 2014 Los Angeles St. David's Day Festival. |
| 2021 | The Mari Lwyd by Lorin Morgan-Richards | Self | A Raven Above Press, documentary short by Lorin Morgan-Richards. |
| 2025 | Poor Poor Eldon | Eldon | A Raven Above Press, Lorin Morgan-Richards was writer, director, executive producer, and animator. [56] An Imperfectualism Film, featuring music by Textbeak and Joshua Kovarik. World premiere on April 1, 2025 at the Beverly Hills Film Festival. |
| 2026 | The Decline and Fall of Holly Dew and Walter Melon | A Raven Above Press, Lorin Morgan-Richards is writer, director, executive producer, and animator. Featuring music by Textbeak and Joshua Kovarik. Release date TBD. |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-2016 | TADA TV | Daddy TADA | A Raven Above Press. |
| 2020 | The Gentleman Psychic | Self | The Gentleman Psychic Productions. [57] Episodes: Jim Morrison Occultist Poet, Addams Family Walking Tour, Vampira. |
| 2021–Present | The Goodbye Family: The Animated Series | Otis, Kepla, Reverend Moustache, Barry Dingle, among others | A Raven Above Press. [58] All episodes: Lorin Morgan-Richards is writer, director, executive producer, and animator. |
Television Docuseries written, produced, and colorized by Lorin Morgan-Richards.
| Release date | Title |
|---|---|
| June 22, 2020 | The Will Rogers Story |
| July 5, 2020 | The Calamity Jane Story |
| July 19, 2020 | The Chinese American Story |
| August 9, 2020 | The Billy the Kid Story |
| August 30, 2020 | The Colonel Allen Allensworth Story |
| June 24, 2023 | The Lincoln, New Mexico Story |
| July 1, 2023 | The Bass Reeves Story |
| July 15, 2023 | The Cabot Yerxa Story |
| July 22, 2023 | The Annie Oakley Story |
| August 12, 2023 | The Tiburcio Vasquez Story |
| January 27, 2024 | The Lotta Crabtree Story |
| February 10, 2024 | The Pearl Heart Story |
| March 9, 2024 | The Mary Fields Story |
| May 4, 2024 | The Black Bart Story |
| May 18, 2024 | The Wyatt Earp Story |
| July 20, 2024 | The Iverson Movie Ranch Story |
| August 10, 2024 | The Yankee Jim Robinson Story |
| August 24, 2024 | The Clay Allison Story |
| September 7, 2024 | The Pioneertown Story |
| September 14, 2024 | The Coulterville Story |
| September 28, 2024 | The Mariposa Story |
| October 12, 2024 | The Willie Boy Story |
| November 2, 2024 | The Corriganville Movie Ranch Story |
| November 16, 2024 | The Jack Powers Story |
| November 30, 2024 | The Movieland Frontier Town Story |
| December 14, 2024 | The Bone Mizell Story |
| December 28, 2024 | The Hoot Gibson Story |
| January 18, 2025 | The Helen Stewart and Old Las Vegas Story |
| February 1, 2025 | The Goodsprings Story |
| February 22, 2025 | The Paramount Ranch Story |
| March 7, 2025 | The Jim McKinney Story |
| April 5, 2025 | The Daggett Story |
| April 26, 2025 | The Seminole Rancher Story |
| June 7, 2025 | The John Big Tree Story |
| June 28, 2025 | The Dick Fellows Story |
| July 19, 2025 | Billy the Kid and the Santa Fe Ring Story |
| September 6, 2025 | The Six Points Texas Story |
| October 4, 2025 | Durango and the Ike Stockton Story |
| November 9, 2025 | The Silverton Story |
| November 22, 2025 | The Madrid Story |
| December 20, 2025 | The Los Cerrillos Story |
| February 7, 2026 | The Fort Tejon and Peter Lebeck Story |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Lower | Self | A Raven Above Press |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Hollywood Blood Horror Fest | Best Dark Comedy | The Goodbye Family: The Animated Series (Lorin Morgan-Richards) | Won | |
| 2024 | Hollywood Blood Horror Fest | Best Sound Design | The Goodbye Family: The Animated Series (Nick Gligor, Lorin Morgan-Richards, Heathen Apostles) | Won | |
| 2024 | TMFF - The Monthly Film Festival | Best Short Film | The Goodbye Family: The Animated Series (Nick Gligor, Lorin Morgan-Richards, Heathen Apostles) | Nominated | [59] |
| 2024 | The Couch Film Festival | Best Animation North America | Poor Poor Eldon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Nominated | [60] |
| 2024 | One-Reeler short film competition | Best Animated Short | Poor Poor Eldon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Finalist (Special Mention) | [61] |
| 2025 | Gothamite Monthly Film Awards | Best Animated Short | Poor Poor Eldon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Won | [62] |
| 2025 | Beverly Hills Film Festival | Best Animated Short | Poor Poor Eldon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Nominated | [63] |
| 2025 | Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival | Best Animation Short (February Award) | Poor Poor Eldon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Finalist (Honorable Mention) | |
| 2025 | LA Underground Film Forum | Best Animation | Poor Poor Eldon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Finalist (Honorable Mention) | |
| 2025 | Alternative Film Festival | Best Super Short Horror | Poor Poor Eldon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Denver Monthly Film Awards | Best Short Film | Poor Poor Eldon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Nominated | [64] |
| 2025 | Bridge Fest, Vancouver (Monthly Awards, December) | Best Animated Short Film | The Decline and Fall of Holly Dew and Walter Melon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Won | [65] |
| 2025 | Bridge Fest, Vancouver (Monthly Awards, December) | Best Composer in Short Film | The Decline and Fall of Holly Dew and Walter Melon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Won | |
| 2025 | Bridge Fest, Vancouver (Annual Award) | Best Animated Short Film | The Decline and Fall of Holly Dew and Walter Melon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Won | |
| 2025 | Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival | Best Animation Film (November award) | The Decline and Fall of Holly Dew and Walter Melon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Won | |
| 2025 | The Couch Film Festival | Best Animation North America | The Decline and Fall of Holly Dew and Walter Melon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Won | |
| 2025 | ALTFF (Alternative Film Festival) | Best Original Story (Winter) | The Decline and Fall of Holly Dew and Walter Melon (Lorin Morgan-Richards, Textbeak, Joshua Kovarik) | Nominated | |
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