Marco Rafalà

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Marco Rafalà
Born
Middletown, Connecticut, United States
Occupation Novelist & Game Writer
Notable work How Fires End

Marco Rafalà is a first-generation Sicilian American novelist and writer for award-winning tabletop role-playing games. [1]

Contents

Education

Born in Middletown, Connecticut, [2] [3] he earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English literature from Albertus Magnus College and a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Creative Writing from The New School. [4]

Career

Marco Rafalà's award-winning debut novel How Fires End was published in October 2019 by Little A. Formerly a musician, Rafalà spent the 1990s recording and touring with various indie bands until he accompanied his father on a trip to Melilli, Sicily, his father's birthplace. He spent the next ten years writing what would become his first novel, taking inspiration from his time in Sicily and the stories his father told him about growing up during and after the Second World War. [2]

On October 15, 2019, How Fires End, the debut novel by Marco Rafalà, was officially introduced during a book launch event held at Ferrara Bakery & Cafe in New York City. The occasion featured a discussion with novelist, poet, and translator Idra Novey, moderated by poet and editor Hafizah Geter, along with musical performances by Solo Di Gondolieri. [5] Rafalà also appeared at the Wesleyan RJ Julia Booksellers in Middletown, Connecticut, with novelist, Juliet Grames (The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna), in 2019 to discuss his novel and its ties to the Italian American immigrant community there. [6] [7] Other book tour events included the fifth installment of New Haven's "Songs and Stories," on December 28, 2019, [8] the 2020 Bazaar Writers Salon in San Francisco, [9] the Argenta Reading Series in North Little Rock, Arkansas, [10] At the Inkwell in Denver, Colorado, [11] and a discussion at Village Books in Bellingham, Washington, with Rena Priest (Poet Laureate of Washington State, 2021-2023). [12]

Rafalà has also written for many leading tabletop roleplaying games, including Star Trek Adventures, The One Ring Roleplaying Game , Lex Arcana, and Beowulf: Age of Heroes. [13]

Awards and honorable mentions for How Fires End

Works

Novels

Short fiction

Essays

Games

The One Ring Roleplaying Game — An award-winning tabletop game based on the novels by J.R.R Tolkien and published by Cubicle 7 Entertainment.

Star Trek Adventures — an award-winning tabletop roleplaying game published by Modiphius Entertainment.

Lex Arcana — a historical-fantasy roleplaying game set in a world where the Roman Empire never fell. Published by Quality Games.

Beowulf: Age of Heroes — a critically acclaimed tabletop roleplaying game setting based on one of the oldest recorded stories in Western Europe. Published by Handiwork Games.

Forts & Frontiers — a historical roleplaying game set in 17th and 18th century North America, based on the D&D 5E rules set. Published by Campaign Games.

Film appearances

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References

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  2. 1 2 Cuda, Amanda (2020-10-02). "CT native's book tells a different Sicilian story". Connecticut Post . Archived from the original on 2021-06-07. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  3. "About". marcorafala. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  4. https://www.albertus.edu/policy-reports/advancement-publications/documents/from-the-hill-archive-dec-2004.pdf
  5. "HOW FIRES END Book Launch at Ferrara Bakery & Cafe". We the Italians. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  6. "Write Stuff: Justice Sotomayor in Meriden, 'Is Shakespeare dead?', witchcraft in Connecticut". Hartford Courant . 2019-10-09. Archived from the original on 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
  7. "Master Calendar - Event Details - Bookstore Event: Marco Rafala in conversation with Juliet Grames". eaglet.wesleyan.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  8. "This Week in New Haven (December 23 - 29)". Daily Nutmeg. 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  9. "Bazaar Writers Salon". SF Weekly . 2020-01-23. Retrieved 2023-11-18 via Internet Archive.
  10. "Argenta Reading Series : Readers". argentareadingseries. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  11. Bohlen, Teague. "Book It: The Five Best Literary Events This Week". Westword. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
  12. "January Author Events at Village Books". WhatcomTalk. 2020-01-02. Retrieved 2023-12-22.
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