Marco Rafalà
Born
Middletown, Connecticut, United States
OccupationNovelist & Game Writer
Notable workHow Fires End

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

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

  • Named a best book of 2019 by Writer’s Bone[14]
  • Named a best book of 2020 by The Brooklyn Rail[15]
  • Winner of the 2020 Best Book Awards in Literary Fiction at the American Book Festival[16]
  • A 2020 Connecticut Book Awards finalist and honorable mention[17]
  • Winner of the 2021 Italian American Studies Association Book Award[18]
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton displaying her copy of How Fires End

Works

Novels

  • How Fires End, Little A, 2019[19]

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.

  • “What Lies Beneath,” written with Richard Harrison for Ruins of the North[23]
  • Journeys & Maps, Contributing Author[24]
  • Adventurer’s Companion, Contributing Author[25]

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

  • “A World With A Bluer Sun” for These Are The Voyages, Mission Compendium I[26]
  • “Plato’s Cave” for Strange New Worlds, Mission Compendium II[27]
  • Alpha Quadrant Sourcebook, Contributing Author[28]
  • “A Forest Apart,” a standalone PDF adventure
  • “A Star Beyond the Stars,” an introductory campaign for the Star Trek Adventures Starter Set[29]

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

  • “Eye of the Cyclops” for Mysteries of the Empire[30]

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.

  • Horror at Herrogate[31]

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.

  • The Feast of the Dead, a starter scenario written with Jameson Proctor, written for Free RPG Day 2019.[32]

Film appearances

References

  1. ↑ https://www.marcorafala.com/
  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.
  13. ↑ "An Interview with Author Marco Rafalà". continuingmissionsta.com. 26 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "The Best Books of 2019". 18 December 2019.
  15. ↑ "The Best of the Brooklyn Rail's Books in 2020". 14 December 2020.
  16. ↑ "American Book Fest".
  17. ↑ "» 2020 Connecticut Book Awards Winners".
  18. ↑ "IASA Book Award".
  19. ↑ Hardcover ISBN 978-1542042970, Paperback ISBN 978-1542042994, Audiobook ISBN 978-1721354412
  20. ↑ "Issue 01 – Bellevue Literary Review". 22 June 2020.
  21. ↑ https://lithub.com/when-a-family-measures-time-by-its-losses/https://lithub.com/when-a-family-measures-time-by-its-losses/
  22. ↑ "About Italian America Magazine".
  23. ↑ "Ruins of the North - Tolkien Gateway".
  24. ↑ "Journeys and Maps - Tolkien Gateway".
  25. ↑ "Adventurer's Companion - Tolkien Gateway".
  26. ↑ Dismuke, Michael (2018-09-26). "An Interview with Author Marco Rafalà -". Continuing Mission. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  27. ↑ "Strange New Worlds: Mission Compendium Vol. 2". RPGGeek. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  28. ↑ "Alpha Quadrant Sourcebook". RPGGeek. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  29. ↑ "Star Trek Adventures Starter Campaign PDF". Modiphius Entertainment. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  30. ↑ "Lex Arcana – I Misteri dell'Impero vol. 1".
  31. ↑ "Writer Interview Marco Rafalà - Handiwork Games". 18 March 2021.
  32. ↑ "The Feast of the Dead".
  33. ↑ "Shooting at the Moon (Short 2003)". IMDb.
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