Bryn Donovan ’90 has her hands full as a full-time author and editor while preparing to publish her latest romance novel, Her Knight at the Museum, releasing on November 12, 2024. The project has received strong early reviews and is currently in development for a Hallmark movie that is tentatively scheduled for release in 2025.

Donovan's latest project is a departure from her previous work, drawing inspiration from a childhood visit to the Art Institute of Chicago. The memory resulted in a story about a medieval knight turned into a statue. "I’ve always loved King Arthur stories, and I just had this idea," she said. "What if the statue could think, feel, and see the people walking by? That’s where the story took off."

When she was younger, Donovan was often skeptical about romance as a genre; however, her perspective began to shift while studying creative writing at Knox. Over time, she became more open to emotional writing. 

Donovan developed a foundation in multiple styles of writing, focusing primarily on poetry and short stories. She emphasized the importance of the feedback and critiques she received within Knox’s creative writing community. “I appreciated the professors I had. They took you seriously as a writer and that made such a difference,” she added. “It makes you take yourself seriously too–being rigorous and not afraid of criticism.” 

While completing her master's degree in fine arts through a fellowship at the University of Arizona, Donovan further explored romance as a genre and fell in love with the literary style. “I do love the genre because it creates those big emotional experiences,” she explained. “One thing about romance is it does have a guaranteed happily ever after. That is one of the two rules of the genre.” After earning her master’s degree, she accepted a position with the Hallmark Channel pitching ideas, managing projects, and even developing stories for Hallmark movies. This opportunity helped hone her skills as an editor and writer. At Hallmark, Donovan also explored the publishing industry, first pitching the idea to publish Hallmark books, and later heading the department. 

Donovan currently works as a full-time editor with her husband at their company Lucky Author, a private book coaching and content strategy agency offering book editing and proofreading services.