Jay Ruud is the author of a new series of mystery novels revolving around the legend Robin Hood, the fourth of which, Knight of Sherwood, is currently under review. He has written a six-volume mystery series set in the court of King Arthur, featuring the venerable court spellbinder Merlin and his young assistant, the page Gildas, who investigate the crimes. 

He has also authored four books of literary criticism and scholarship (one on Chaucer, one on Dante, one on Tolkien, and an Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature), in addition to several dozen articles on topics like Arthurian literature, Tolkien, Chaucer, the mystic Julian of Norwich, and medieval drama. Recently he has explored literature’s relationship with medieval arts. 

He is retired from his position as Professor and Chair of the English department at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, prior to which he was Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. He and his wife, author Stacey Margaret Jones, have a podcast, “Between the Covers,” in which they discuss books he has placed on his personal list of the “100 Most Lovable Novels in the English Language.” They have been to all seven continents and have recently been in a production of You Can’t Take It WithYou at the Red Curtain Theater in Conway. Currently, they are living in France.