Ben LeRoy was born, grew up, and continues to live on the north side of Madison, WI. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he received his bachelor’s degree in English & Philosophy.

He founded and served as publisher of Bleak House Books from 2000-2009 and was the founder and publisher of Tyrus Books from 2009 until the company was acquired by Simon & Schuster in early 2017. During his time in the publishing industry, Ben was a frequent speaker at conferences, contributor to media pieces about the publishing industry, and was named to Publishers Weekly’s 50 Under 40 list. After his time as a publisher, he served as the Executive Director of the Independent Publishers Caucus. He is currently a Senior Acquisitions Editor for Crooked Lane Books.

In 2014 after the death of a friend, Ben volunteered in all 50 states as part of Be Local Everywhere. He serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors of Common Wealth Development, a 501c (3) non-profit dedicated to providing affordable housing and job training for those in need. He is also the Vice President of the Board of Directors of Wrath-Bearing Tree, an organization established by combat veterans and maintained by a diverse board of veterans, military spouses, and writers compelled by themes of social justice and human resilience, The Wrath-Bearing Tree publishes essays, reviews, fiction, and poetry on military, economic, and social violence written by those who have experienced military, economic, and social violence or their consequences.

He is currently at work on a variety of written, audio, and video projects, many of which will likely never see the light of day. But the work is exploration and sometimes exploration is enough. As new projects become available, they show up on this website for a brief time and then they disappear. There may/may not be rabbit holes on this website for other explorers. Including you, Ray Liotta.