Bob Kunzinger

Bob Kunzinger is the author of eight collections of essays and multiple articles for many publications. His first two collections of non-fiction stories are set in St. Petersburg, Russia. The first, "Out of Nowhere," explores Russian people in the decade after the fall of communism, and the second, "Meanwhile in Leningrad," exposes the tragic and heartfelt lives of the veterans of World War Two who defended the city during the siege. In "Penance," a hugely successful magical-realism book set in the Czech Republic, Bob spends nine days exploring Prague both as a professor at the university, and as a student of the Infant Jesus of Prague. His collection "Borderline Crazy" is one of two recent books which includes award-winning essays which have been anthologized, nominated for various awards, and several essays have been noted by "Best American Essays." And his collection of short work, "Fragments: Flash non-fiction," contains shorter non-fiction work, each of which has appeared in national publications.

In 2019, his books include "Blessed Twilight: The Life of Vincent van Gogh," (March); a first-person account of the artist's life, reissued due to the award-winning film "At Eternity's Gate" based upon the same letters. And "A Third Place: Notes in Nature," (Madville Press, August) is a highly anticipated book of short reflections from nature, already called "A modern Thoreauvian read!"

His work has appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the Southern Humanities Review, World War Two History Magazine, Kestrel, as well as countless newspapers and magazines, and has been mentioned several times in Best American Essays as some of the most notable essays available.

Bob's writing has been described as "digressive narrative" (St Petersburg Times, SHR, Asian Journal Review), and praised by authors as diverse as Tim O'Brien and Arnost Lustig. He holds advanced degrees from Old Dominion University and Penn State University, as well as a degree in Journalism from St Bonaventure University. His articles have raised issues as diverse as the responsibility of society (the shooting of Gabriella Giffords), censorship (the Muslim cartoon scandal), obesity (an article personally praised by First Lady Michelle Obama), and he authored several pieces about the 9/11 tragedy which have been syndicated at newspaper online sites throughout the world. The "viral" success of his Memorial Day piece for the Washington Post, "From This Green Hill," has brought his work even more attention and praise.

He writes and walks near his home in Deltaville, Virginia.