Maria C. Palmer and Ruthie Robbins

Maria Costanzo Palmer was named as one of L.A. Weekly’s “Top 15 Rising Authors to Watch in 2023.” Her debut book was mentioned in Forbes Magazine in December 2023 as a must-have for the “Entrepreneurial-Spirited People on Your Holiday List.” On the Rocks has won many awards including being named the winner of the American Bookfest Awards for 2023 in the Narrative Nonfiction category. It has also won second place in the Royal Dragonfly Awards for the Food-Related and Historical Nonfiction categories, and third place for the Feathered Quill Book Awards in both the Memoir/Biography and Inspiration Nonfiction categories. She also has been named a Finalist in the Page Turner Awards and Chanticleer Book Awards. Maria’s writing has also been recognized by Gov. Phil Murphy, who sent her a personal commendation letter after her Page Turner nomination. A former host on L.A. Talk Radio, she was recently featured on a number of media appearances including the CBS show The Talk Pittsburgh, Food and Beverage Magazine Live, a local Toyota commercial, and iHeartRadio. For a complete list of media, please visit www.mariacpalmer.com.
Growing up as the oldest child of an award-winning restaurateur, Palmer unexpectedly became a daughter of the incarcerated. This experience ignited an interest in working for Get on the Bus, a nonprofit dedicated to uniting children with their incarcerated parents. Maria credits Get on the Bus for helping her to find her voice. She believed so strongly in this organization that in addition to working for Get on the Bus, she and her husband were volunteers. In 2010, Maria ran the L.A. Marathon and blogged about her training experience, raising close to $10,000 for the organization.
She is also the founder of the popular FB/IG fans page @joecostanzoprimadonna, which hosts 30,000 visitors a month seeking recipes, Italian memes, giveaways, and a peak at her day-to-day life working in the family restaurant business for many years.
In addition, Maria is a well-known force in the nonprofit world. She has worked on both coasts for organizations that give voice and equity to the marginalized members of society. With a particular soft spot for children with incarcerated parents, Maria has been a prominent voice in the social justice community in California, New York, and New Jersey.
Maria is a native of Pittsburgh, PA. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in New York and a master’s degree in psychology from Pepperdine University. In both 2011 and 2012, she was recognized by Pepperdine University for her service work.
Maria relocated to NJ in 2011. Currently, Maria is the Grant Writer/Development Associate for St. Paul’s Community Development Corporation in Paterson, NJ, an agency committed to human self-sufficiency offering over 10,000 individuals in the greater Passaic County area. Maria currently lives in New Jersey with her husband Joe, daughters Helena and Josephina, and rescue dogs Luna and Stella.

Ruthie (Dines) Robbins (nominated for On the Rocks) was named as the 2021 Finalist for the Page Turner Awards in the Screenplay Book Adaptation Needed category for On the Rocks. Maria’s writing has also been recently recognized by Gov. Phil Murphy, who sent her a personal commendation letter after her Page Turner nomination. She is in her 46th year as an educator. After teaching in a large suburban district near Pittsburgh, PA, Ruthie worked in Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, and San Antonio for Johns Hopkins School of Education Center for Social Organization of Schools and has also taught in public and private schools in the Buffalo, NY, area. In addition, Ruthie was an organist/choir director for forty-four years. Her career enables her to work with sizable groups of people for years at a time, building strong networks through which she can appeal to potential readers.
As a writer, Ruthie is perhaps best known as co-author of a popular middle school interdisciplinary unit for Pittsburgh’s beloved Kennywood Park. She is currently working on a book about teaching English and Language Arts titled This Is a Playroom; Words Are the Toys, a children’s book called Nuttered Boodles, and a fictional romance, Dreams I’ll Never See. With degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University, she currently lives in Buffalo, NY.