Portland High School Senior Becomes Published Author Through The Telling Room

Portland High School senior Ramona Rowe will head to college next year with an extraordinary achievement already under her belt: She’s a published novelist.

Rowe’s debut novel, Factory Town, was recently published through The Telling Room’s Young Emerging Authors program, a rigorous 15-month writing and publishing experience for Maine students. Her science-fiction story is set in Worcester, Massachusetts—where her family has roots—and follows Jordie, an android whose routine of stealing from the human world for an underground factory is upended by a rogue android with a dangerous new vision for the future. The novel, described as humorous, honest, and filled with clever references, offers a playful yet thoughtful look at humanity through the eyes of its android characters.

A Portland Public Schools student since kindergarten, Rowe said that her education has played a central role in her success as a writer.

“At Reiche Elementary School, King Middle School, and now Portland High School, I’ve had several teachers who encouraged me toward writing over the years,” Rowe said. She also credited the district’s Remote Academy creative writing club for nurturing her early interest and providing a supportive community.

Rowe’s involvement with The Telling Room, a Portland-based literary arts education organization, has been especially impactful.

“The Telling Room’s programs over the past couple of years have given me a chance to get feedback and advice from teachers and peers, as well as being really fun and helpful for inspiration,” Rowe said.

The Telling Room partners closely with Portland Public Schools to support young writers.

“We consider the Portland Public Schools an important partner,” Jude Marx, The Telling Room’s lead teacher for publications, said. “We have done many workshops and programs in the elementary, middle, and high schools, and we collaborate with Portland Public Schools teachers and staff to support students in accessing and thriving in our after-school programs.”

Rowe was one of only four students selected statewide for the 2024-2025 Young Emerging Authors cohort, which also included Casco Bay High School graduate Ruby Van Dyk, now a Stanford University student and newly published poet.

Beyond the publication of Factory Town, Rowe continues to create. She is already working on another science-fiction novel—this one, about parallel dimensions—and one of her short stories will appear in an upcoming The Telling Room climate anthology.

Rowe’s author bio sums up her creative spirit: She loves “bad sci-fi, ridiculous fantasy, and her irritating cats,” and when she’s not writing, she’s drawing supervillains, sketching space aliens, or diving deep into obscure Wikipedia pages.

As she prepares for graduation in June and considers her college choices, Rowe is already well on her way as a young Maine author with a bright literary future.

This story was submitted by Portland Public Schools. To submit a good news story to the Maine DOE, please fill out the good news submission form.