Bill Ratner
AUTHOR

Bill Ratner

Business & Careers | Literature & Fiction
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Bill Ratner is a 2022 Best of the Net Poetry Nominee. His writing is published in Best Small Fictions 2021 (Sonder Press), To Decorate a Casket (Finishing Line Press--poetry chapbook), Fear of Fish (Alien Buddha Press--poetry collection), Missouri Review Audio, Chiron Review, Baltimore Review, Feminine Collective, and other journals. Bill is a 9-time winner of The Moth Story Slam, 2-time winner of Best of The Hollywood Fringe Extension Award for Solo Performance. His readings are featured on National Public Radio’s Good Food, The Business, and KCRW’s Strangers. He is a volunteer grief counsellor and earns his living as a voice actor (“Donnell Udina” in Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3, “Flint” in G.I. Joe, etc.) He is a Poets & Writers Readings and Workshops Grant recipient and the author of Parenting for the Digital Age: The Truth About Media’s Effect on Children from Familius Books. Bill teaches voiceover for the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and poetry and storytelling for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Social media: billratner.com/author • twitter.com/billratner • instagram.com/billratner • Audio, text, and video of Bill’s performances: www.billratner.com/author Publishing credits: https://www.pw.org/directory/writers/bill_ratner PRAISE FOR BILL RATNER'S POETRY: “These highly original poems stir things up — a wild concoction of exploration, confession, and surreal fantasy, each topped with a soupçon of wry wit. Whether mourning the early demise of his family or riffing on being the one left behind to come of age on his own, Ratner’s poems find life’s humor and sweetness. They kick off their shoes and dance with Death.” – Alexis Rhone Fancher, author of Junkie Wife, Poetry editor of Cultural Weekly. Bill Ratner’s vocation is words. He knows what happens when they bump up against each other. His poems are by turns lyric and experiential. They invoke humor, grief, and inconsolate longing, often at the same time. — Jill Alexander Essbaum, Would-Land, Cooper Dillon Books “Bill Ratner’s poetry is fearless and irreverent. He has gone through the tunnel and lived to tell the tale. He invites you to leave the shallow waters and meet him in the deep end.” —Rachel Kann, How to Bless the New Moon, Ben Yehuda Press “Like a good storyteller, Ratner sidles up to you, whispers the opening of a tale, then brings in the big guns of poetry to make it all work. These poems are masterful, touching, evocative, and Ratner himself is a master-builder at work, a man who shapes words out of airy nothing and commands them to speak.” — Jack Grapes, Last of the Outsiders, Chatwin Press Parenting for the Digital Age - The Truth about Media's Effect on Children and What To Do About It (Familius Press)...From how to start a babysitting co-op, to the strange, true story behind Barbie and G.I. Joe, in Parenting for the Digital Age, Bill Ratner has written a fascinating book--part Hollywood media memoir/part parenting guide for the digital age. Landing his first job in advertising at age fourteen, Ratner learned early that the media doesn't necessarily have children's interests at heart. His career as one of America's most heard voiceover artists and his life as an educator and a parent gives readers a first-hand look at the effects of digital media on children and what you can do about it. PRAISE FOR BILL RATNER'S PROSE: "More than just the premier voiceover talent in Hollywood today, Ratner writes with the subtlety and texture worthy of a literary fiction master." --Brad Schreiber, Huffington Post "High-caliber storyteller." --L.J. Williamson, L.A. Weekly "From kindergartner entranced with disembodied voices on TV and radio...to voiceover stardom and family man...Bill Ratner's life keeps bursting the confines of the ordinary..." --Anita Frankel, Psychologist "Bill Ratner is one of the most enjoyable storytellers in Los Angeles." --Gary Buchler, Storytelling Producer, The Moth.org "The behind the scenes stories of his life as a big time announcer are lots of fun, but I found the family scenes most affecting...A fascinating life journey, told by a master storyteller..." --Beau Weaver, SpokenWord.com PRAISE FOR PARENTING FOR THE DIGITAL AGE: •Winner: 2016 National Indie Excellence Award, Parenting and Family category •Finalist: 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Award, Parenting/Family category •Finalist: 2016 Eric Hoffer Book Award “Bill Ratner offers that rare and old-fashioned thing that no hand-held device will ever make obsolete: a good old-fashioned story…along with a valuable antidote for getting back to what matters most: human relationships. --Joyce Maynard, author of Labor Day "Author and voice actor Bill Ratner…made a career out of lending his voice to some of the most aggressive advertising powerhouses around. But Ratner is also a dad. And his lifetime of work in the industry make his perspective a useful one." --Stefanie Brown, TIME “Lucid and thought-provoking.” --Jane Claire, Barnes & Noble Books “The well-rounded and vast enthusiasm and curiosity about life of Bill Ratner…lends a very warm and up flavor of this book.” --Carol Smaldino, Huffington Post “Lively and warm…A fine personal narrative.” --Kirkus Reviews “Filled with encouragement and options for parents.” --Charlie Hall, Polygon.com “A fantastic book with tips and techniques about parenting in today’s digital society but not boring and preachy as one might expect…The perfect book for any parent with a toddler to a teenager, a fun, fascinating read.” --Heather Janssen, The Crafty Mommy Blog “Personal anecdotes and interviews with families that are as entertaining as they are thought provoking.” --Brianne Schaer, LifeInLA.com
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