Portland High School senior Ramona Rowe will start college next year with a huge life accomplishment already checked off: She’s a published novelist.

Ramona recently had her first full-length novel published through The Telling Room. Titled “Factory Town,” it’s a science fiction novel set in Worcester, Mass., where she has family roots. The novel’s main protagonist is Jordie, whose regular life as an android stealing from the human world for a secret underground factory is disrupted by a rogue android scheming to create a new world order. “‘Factory Town,’ with its cast of lovable androids, turns a winking eye on humanity, with humor, dark honesty, and gloriously obscure references,” according to the novel’s promotional book summary.

Ramona has attended the Portland Public Schools since kindergarten and said her education has aided in her writing success. At Reiche Elementary School, King Middle School and now Portland High School, she said that she has had “several teachers who encouraged me towards writing over the years and during Remote Academy, there was a creative writing club that was really encouraging.” The Achievement goal in PPS' Strategic Plan commits the district to elevating learning for every student. 

Also, she said, “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.”

The Telling Room is a Portland-based literary arts education organization focused on young writers ages 6 to 18. The organization seeks to build confidence, strengthen literacy skills, and provide real audiences for participating students. The Telling Room collaborates with the Portland Public Schools.

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

Ramona published her novel with the aid of The Telling Room’s Young Emerging Authors program. Young Emerging Authors is a free, paid, 15 month-long writing and publishing program for Maine students in eighth through 12th grade. Every spring, the organization selects four Maine writers to write, edit, and publish their own books. Ramona was one of the four selected for the 2024-2025 cohort.

Also in that group was Ruby Van Dyk, a Casco Bay High School class of 2025 graduate. Ruby, who is now attending Stanford University, also has had her book of poetry, titled “Clearing Out the Fridge,” published by The Telling Room. Proceeds from the sale of Telling Room books help support the organization's free writing programs for youth.

Ramona’s bio on The Telling Room website describes her as loving “bad sci-fi, ridiculous fantasy, and her irritating cats. When not writing, she’s drawing supervillains and space aliens or scrolling through Wikipedia to learn everything about everything. Or if not everything, electrolarynxes, Star Wars, and Providence, Rhode Island. ‘Factory Town’ is based on her love of science fiction and her family experiences in Worcester.”

Ramona said her mother is from Worcester. “Although I've never lived there, I've visited my aunt and uncles — who live there — a lot,” she said. “It's a really weird and interesting place.”

What’s next for this new author? She is planning on going to college after graduating this June, but hasn’t decided on which one yet. And she continues to write. “I'm currently working on a new sci-fi novel about parallel dimensions, and one of my short stories is going to be in an upcoming Telling Room climate anthology,” Ramona said.