2019 Wright Medal recipient for non-fiction, Ben Cooper, was born in Ellwood City, north of Pittsburgh. Today, he lives in a small rural community along the Mason-Dixon line in Somerset County, PA. The Eastern Continental Divide is his backyard view.
“Being raised on a family farm provided me with a connection to the land and animals. I cultivate those experiences in my writing because it is such an integral part of who I am.”
Ben is an avid beekeeper which stems from his days in 4-H. He now mentors in the science and art of beekeeping and teaches a course at a nearby community college. He was awarded Maryland Freestate Beekeeper Citizenship Award in 2017 for his work on beekeeping legislation for Maryland.
Pastor Darren Ritchey, a teacher at the Bible institute Ben attended, inspired him to write. “When I had to write papers, I always included animals. One day [Pastor Ritchey] said in passing, ‘You could probably write a book on animals in the Bible.’ That comment lodged in my heart and I believe God commissioned me to write it.”
In 1996, Ben dabbled with writing down notes, thoughts, and ideas whenever he could. His advice to aspiring authors is to “keep pen and paper close by—in your cars, on your nightstands, and wherever you go. Find a quiet place to take those scraps of paper and ideas and develop them into your book. In the beginning, it will look like a puzzle with just the border, but as you keep at it, the pieces will fall into place and the complete work will come into view.
Tap image to order
I’m a double cancer survivor. Seventeen years after major surgery and 130 radiation treatments, I thought I’d ‘done my time,’ but a second cancer diagnosis drove me to complete my work. God grabbed my attention and reminded me of the book I was to write. Instead of worrying, I wrote. The three months of waiting from diagnosis to surgery could have felt like an eternity if I hadn’t engaged in writing. Cancer is a terrible disease. It affects a wide range of people and causes them to fear, but ‘God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind’” (II Timothy 1:7).
All Nature Sings, Ben’s devotional book about animals in the Bible released this past January and is a twenty-two year labor of love. Because all nature sings God’s praises, Ben wrote the book to help us learn to listen for them.
He recently retired from a thirty-two year career with the the Maryland Department of Agriculture to market his book. Retirement has allowed him to do more speaking in churches and camp ministries. “I would like to get back to doing short-term mission trips both in and out of the country.”
Ben invites you to connect with him on Facebook and to check out his book on his Amazon Author page.
◊◊◊◊◊
“Bible and Beekeeping are a lot alike. The more I study and learn about them, the more I realize that I need to study and learn more about them.” —Ben Cooper
J. D.
I started with bees as a 4-H project and just kept up with it. My connection with them for the most part has been calming, but there have been a few times I wound up on the dark side of a colony. Farming & agriculture has been part of me as long as I can remember. Connect up with my facebook page Re: Starr’s link to stay connected.
What a wonderful insight into a special man. I love his connection with animals and natures. I’ve loved honey, the perfect natural food, my entire life, but bees and I keep our distance. Unless they’re wasps, I leave them alone in hopes they do me. Thank you for sharing this. Will look for his writings.
Thanks for introducing me to another author who loves nature!
Thanks for joining my facebook group. Glad to share some of the same feelings toward nature!