For most of his life, Rick Pender has been all about writing. He began reading at age 4; and within a few years created and published a newsletter for his family’s neighbors, using a kid’s tiny offset press.
WRITING AND PUBLISHING SINCE CHILDHOOD
For most of his life, Rick Pender has been all about writing. He began reading at age 4, and within a few years created and published a newsletter for his family’s neighbors, using a kid’s tiny offset press. At 11, he began a seven-year stint delivering a morning newspaper, The Cleveland Plain Dealer. He read the “PD” voraciously, especially arts and sports coverage.
ARTS & SPORTS COEXIST
At Chardon High School he wrote for the school paper and was co-editor of the yearbook. He performed in plays and musicals and was a sports announcer. He majored in English at Oberlin College, graduated with high honors and went directly to graduate school, earning a master’s degree in English literature at Case Western Reserve University. He spent a year in the Medieval Studies Institute at SUNY-Binghamton, before returning to CWRU to complete his Ph.D., writing a dissertation on Sir Thomas Malory, the 15th-century writer whose retelling of the legends of King Arthur, the Morte D’Arthur, was the first work published by William Caxton, England’s first printer. (Note: His affection for retelling legends and historic facts and artifacts has stayed with him his entire career!)
A VOICE FOR RADIO
In 1980 Rick relocated to southwest Ohio to promote WGUC-FM, Cincinnati’s classical music station. He edited and published WGUC In Print, a monthly program guide that also reported on Greater Cincinnati’s arts scene. In 1984 he was hired by Northern Kentucky University to launch and manage its newly licensed National Public Radio station. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, he hosted weekly programs and provided overnight theater reviews for listeners.