Courtesy photo /
Richard Fellinger attended a “Books and Beer” event at a brewpub with copies of his first novel, “Made to Break Your Heart,” in 2018. Fellinger’s third book, “An American Girl,” recently won an award.
When Richard Fellinger was in fifth grade at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic school in Altoona, his teacher told him he had an “aptitude for writing.”
Since then, Fellinger has gone on to become an award-winning author, journalist and English college professor.
In November, Fellinger received an email informing him that he won the inaugural Thomas E. Kennedy novel award for his third book titled “An American Girl,” which was released during the first week of July.
The book takes place in Cumberland, a fictional small town outside of Harrisburg, which was intentional, according to Fellinger.
Most of Fellinger’s stories take place in small towns nestled in Pennsylvania, saying that steel and railroad towns are often overlooked.
“Just like Billy Joel who wrote about Allentown, I want to write about Altoona and Johnstown,” Fellinger said.
Born and bred in Pa.
Born in Mercy hospital, where a Graystone apartment complex now stands in Altoona, Fellinger believes his parents did a good job at giving him and his two siblings a “happy, healthy home.”
His father, Richard F. Fellinger, was a sign painter in Altoona before he died in 2014. Since his father was constantly creating signs, Fellinger said that he, too, has a need to create.
“Whether it be an op-ed or a sign, I feel like I inherited a need to create a little something everyday,” Fellinger said. “It’s a passion.”
When Fellinger attended Roosevelt high school in Altoona, he was a “solid, good runner” on the school’s cross country team, according to Lee Baranick, a retired English teacher and cross country coach at Keith high school.
“He was very intelligent, and he did very well in school,” Baranick said, “None of (his success) is a surprise to me.”
After graduating from high school, Fellinger attended the University of Pittsburgh to get a degree in Liberal Studies.
Little did he know that he would befriend a famous writer and English professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Chuck Kinder.
Known as an American novelist, Kinder was also the inspiration for Micheal Chabon’s book “Wonder Boys,” which was later made into the 2000s movie starring Micheal Douglas and Tobey Maguire. Kinder passed away in 2019.
Leaving Pitt with a bachelor’s degree, Fellinger began his career in journalism working for multiple newspapers in the Philadelphia area.
“He was hired pretty early on at large newspapers, and that was my clue that he was on his way up,” Baranick said.
In 2004, however, Kinder wrote a note to Fellinger encouraging him to continue creating stories. Shortly following that, Fellinger attended Wilkes University to pursue a master of fine arts degree in creative writing.
Fellinger gave Kinder an acknowledgment in his first short story collection, “They Hover Over Us,” saying, “he is a good dude.”
While writing short stories and novels, Fellinger worked as an English professor from 2009 at Elizabethtown College until his department downsized in 2025. Recently, he began a job in Communications at the State House of Representatives in Harrisburg.
Fellinger currently lives in Harrisburg with his wife, Wendy Fellinger, and their son, Casey.
“I’m living proof it’s never too late to start over,” Fellinger said.
Thinking outside the box
Fellinger begins his writing process with some coffee and soft music, preferably some “old Springsteen.”
“I try to write everyday,” Fellinger said.
After publishing “They Hover Over Us” in 2013, Fellinger began to turn his attention to novel writing, which led to the creation of “Made to Break Your Heart” (2017), “Summer of ’85” (2021), and most recently, “An American Girl” (2025).
“An American Girl” follows Emma, a single mom who is tasked by her son’s school board with selecting diverse books to include in the library. Shortly after, however, these selections are banned by the school, causing Emma and her newfound community friends to fight back.
Fellinger said this is his first novel with a female protagonist, saying that he hopes he was able to “write Emma well.”
“I thought I would like to tell a human story about someone who feels impacted by (the book ban) and dealing with enough crap already, so I let my imagination go, and I created Emma,” Fellinger said.
Serving House Books publisher William K Lawrence commented on Emma’s struggle as a single mother, especially while raising her half Pakistani son who faces discrimination.
“The plot of ‘An American Girl’ stood out as a book that really speaks to us right now about important issues,” Lawrence said. “Fellinger takes these characters with unfortunate and all too common circumstances and drops them into the middle of an escalating national crisis.”
Throughout America, book banning continues to be a controversial topic, but Fellinger is not afraid to stir the pot.
“I am drawn to and not afraid to write about social issues,” Fellinger said. “I think writers should have courage, and I think great writers would agree with me.”
Fellinger mainly takes inspiration from American short story writer Raymond Carver, who was close friends with Kinder, but he also relied on writers T.C. Boyle and Kent Haruf while creating “An American Girl.”
Focusing on Haruf’s writing style specifically, Fellinger said that he took Haruf’s “ability to write well about multiple characters within a town.”
“An American Girl” includes multiple perspectives from selected characters, which is why Fellinger decided to set the story in third-person point-of-view. He noted that this is also his first published work written in third person, saying it had its “extra challenges.”
“I thought it was important to dip into the characters’ heads and write from their perspectives,” said Fellinger. “It touches on the issue, and that these issues impact many people.”
Although Fellinger experimented with different topics and writing styles in “An American Girl,” he said he is most proud of writing it, along with his prior book, “Summer of ’85.”
“That’s when my work really started to mature and I started to understand what it took to write a good book,” Fellinger said.
One step at a time
Fellinger believes that “good fiction writers write what they know but let their imagination run with it.”
This piece of advice has served him well — he has been nominated and won multiple awards for his works centered around small town life in Pennsylvania, the Thomas E. Kennedy award being his most recent achievement.
According to Lawrence, the book that wins this award is not chosen lightly. The Serving House Books publishing company selects a committee of “tough judges” made up from past award winners and previously published authors.
“When they delivered their unanimous decision to me, I was thrilled because I knew the book was a smash,” Lawrence said.
Although winning this award is significant, Baranick believes that Fellinger’s writing career is just beginning.
“He has proven that there is a lot to be said about small-town America,” Baranick said.
Lawrence added onto the importance of small-town stories, saying that Emma’s “fictional story tells a real story of real people out there. That’s an important reminder we all need.”
Fellinger plans to continue writing about small town America, especially since his next novel will take place in his hometown.
“Right now, it’s just a germ of an idea and it will take several years to come to fruition, but I would like to write it one day,” Fellinger said.
Despite having a successful writing career, Fellinger understands the difficulty of making it in the publishing business, and he thinks it is important for writers to understand the challenges.
“People don’t read like they used to,” Fellinger noted. “It’s hard to sell books, but I don’t care. I’m writing anyway.”
After winning the Thomas E. Kennedy novel award, Fellinger said that this recognition “helps me feel like my work matters.”
“Everytime my son won a baseball championship, I would say, ‘this is something they could never take away from you,’ and this is something they can never take away from me.”
Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.
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