Raised on the family orchard in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Frank Levering is the author or co-author of eight books of non-fiction, poetry, and fiction, including Moving to a Small Town  (Simon & Schuster), and the national bestseller, Simple Living  (Viking/Penguin). A pioneer in the environmentally conscious voluntary simplicity movement, Levering wrote, directed and co-produced the PBS series, also called Simple Living , that aired for five years nationwide with 1.6 million regular viewers. This innovative show was the first American television series to focus on environmental issues and can now be seen on Hulu. He is the author of seventeen produced plays. In 1999 Levering founded The Cherry Orchard Theatre  as an outdoor theater space for experimental and site-specific productions, including Chekhov’s masterpiece, The Cherry Orchard . Levering lives and works on his Virginia farm.