John B. Marek is a maker, doer, grower, and writer who crafts insightful essays and award-winning fiction focused on sustainable living, rural communities, and outdoor adventure. 

John has published eight books: the essay collections Secrets of Neighborhood Marketing (2006), Breakfast at Midway (2008), Ben and the Art of Lawnmower Maintenance (2018), Such Is Life in Vacationland (2022), Getting Back To The Garden (2023) and Falling Up The Hill (2023), and the short-fiction collections The Bug Jar and Other Stories (2016) and Ocean of Storms (2019). His short stories "Bandito," "'Esque," and "The Dangerous Kind" each won Anson awards for Best Fiction.

John's work has also appeared in such diverse publications as the Charlotte Business Journal, Statesville Living, Business North Carolina, N.C. Outdoors, the Triangle Business Journal, Site Selection, Out Here, Countryside, and Backwoods Home. His weekly blog, WINDOW ON THE MOUNTAIN, is made available to more than 3,000 readers weekly through his partnerships with various online and print media resources. 

John grew up on the shores of Lake Erie near the town of Port Clinton, Ohio, graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in Business Administration, and settled in the Toledo, Ohio, area where he held management positions in retail, technology, and manufacturing from 1986 to 1994.

In 1995, opportunity called him south to North Carolina, where he worked for twenty-five years as an advisor to industry, local economic developer, and statewide advocate for rural issues before stepping away from the business and government sectors in 2023.

Since 2020, John has partnered with New Beginnings Moravian Church on a faith-based community garden where he and a team of volunteers demonstrate sustainable small-scale agricultural techniques while providing fresh produce for the food-insecure of the Huntersville community.

John divides his time between Huntersville and Traphill, North Carolina, along with his wife Janet and their rescue dogs Laika and Millie. He can be contacted at johnbmarek@gmail.com and personally answers all emails.