Gary Robert Pinnell is a retired newspaper reporter, photographer and editor. In 2020, he published a fictional biography, To Daddy, Who I Never Loved, about 1967, the Summer of Love, when he ran away from Duncan, Oklahoma, hitchhiked to California, and lived in a communal restaurant in Palo Alto until he found his father. He is currently writing a creative nonfiction biography, The Madness of E.W. and Lydie Marland.

Gary Robert Pinnell is a retired journalist who worked with thirteen newspapers in seven states - Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida.

He won or shared two dozen newspaper awards, 1976 to 2017. Following retirement, he won short story and novel writing awards from Florida Writers Association and Oklahoma Writers Association.

Gary authored fictional memoir, To Daddy, Who I Never Loved, that was published in 2020. He is currently working on his next novel, The Madness of E.W. and Lydie Marland.

Gary Robert Pinnell was born in Oceanside, California in 1952. He attended schools in San Diego, California; Empire, Oklahoma, and Duncan Oklahoma. He dropped out of high school four times, but got his diploma in 1971 from Rush Springs High School.

From ages 11 to 13, Gary delivered newspapers for the Daily Oklahoman and Oklahoma City Times.

From age 13, he worked a variety of jobs. He soda jerked at Tastee Freeze, car hopped at Sonic, fried chicken at Jim Dandy, sold clothing at The Ranch, Silverman’s, Rothschild’s; lugged meat at a packing plant, climbed wooden water towers to replace rotten boards; unloaded box cars, cleaned grease pits and offices at Halliburton.

He earned his BA from OU in political science, in 1983 and his MA from OU in journalism in 1992.

Gary reported for or edited 13 newspapers in Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida. He won or shared two dozen newspaper awards, 1976 to 2017.

He taught literature and English grammar courses at four community colleges in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Florida. He also taught 36 writing seminars at Highlands Art League, Sebring, FL.

He won short story and novel writing awards from Florida Writers Association and Oklahoma Writers Association.

Gary retired in 2017, after which, he authored fictional memoir, To Daddy, Who I Never Loved.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 crisis, he completed To Daddy, Who I Never Loved, which won historic novel awards from the Florida Writers Association and the Oklahoma Writers Federation.