Robin Yocum is an accomplished American author, best known for his historical mystery and crime thriller novels. He was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and grew up in the small town of Brilliant in Eastern Ohio. Yocum's upbringing was heavily influenced by his father's career as a steel worker, which motivated him to seek out different career paths from a young age. He worked a variety of jobs, including being a carrier for the local paper, a truck driver, and a janitor at the Steubenville Country club. It was this janitor job that inspired him to graduate college and pursue more ambitious career goals.
Yocum's career as a writer began in journalism, where he worked as a crime and investigative reporter with the Columbus Dispatch from 1980 to 1991. During his time at the Dispatch, he received thirty local, state, and national journalism awards in categories ranging from investigative reporting to feature writing. His experiences as a reporter inform much of his fiction writing, which often features crime and mystery themes set in the Ohio River Valley.
Robin Yocum is the author of several highly popular novels, including the award-winning Favorite Sons, which won the 2011 USA Book News Book of the Year for Mystery/Suspense. His latest novel, The Essay, was released in October 2012 by Arcade Publishing. He is also the author of Dead Before Deadline, a compilation of stories from his days as a crime beat reporter with the Columbus Dispatch. Yocum's writing is known for its vivid descriptions of the Ohio River Valley and its engaging, complex plots.
Yocum is also the founder of Yocum Communications, a public relations and marketing firm in Westerville, Ohio. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University. With a successful career in both journalism and fiction writing, Yocum has established himself as a prominent voice in American literature. His novel, The Sacrifice of Lester Yates, was released in the spring of 2021 by Arcade CrimeWise, an imprint of Arcade Publishing.