Ryan Van Cleave (born 1972 in Neenah, Wisconsin) is an American freelance writer, writing coach, and keynote speaker.
He runs the creative writing program at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida.
In 2006 he co-founded C&R Press[5] (with fellow writer Chad Prevost[6]), a non-profit literary organization that publishes early career poets and offers free community writing workshops throughout the Southeastern US.
After learning that a chair he sat in at Northern Illinois University had bullet holes in it after Steven Kazmierczak's school shooting on February 14, 2008, Van Cleave wrote a young adult book about gun violence in schools called Unlocked.
They read for the pure pleasure of it, and they're at a crucial point in their lives where the right book at the right time can change everything for them."