Maryann Ridini Spencer Biography

A Passion for Writing & Inspirational Content Creation

Maryann pens award-winning fiction and non-fiction books and writes and produces critically acclaimed projects for film & television that entertain, inspire, educate, and uplift with themes that revolve around faith, family, hope, healing, forgiveness, timeless friendships, enduring romances, and the wondrous mysteries of life.

She began her career as a producer/writer for CNN. Later, she was appointed Director of Publicity for Miss Universe, Inc. and served as Senior VP of Stephen J. Cannell Productions before founding Ridini Entertainment Corporation. As company president, she is committed to creating, writing, producing, and promoting content that entertains, inspires, educates, and uplifts.

A member of the Writers Guild of America West and Producers Guild of America, Maryann has produced numerous movies and television series. Her projects have appeared on Showtime, SiFi Networks, TMC, USA Networks, CBS-TV, Time Warner Cable, and the foreign theatrical market. In addition, she is celebrated for co-producing/writing the teleplay for the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie The Lost Valentine. Based on the James Michael Pratt novel, the movie stars Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Over fifteen million viewers tuned in to watch the film, which won CBS-TV the night in ratings. The film, winner of the Faith and Freedom Movieguide® Award, has since become part of Hallmark’s Gold Crown (DVD) Collector’s Edition, and the film can also be live-streamed on Hallmark’s movie channels.

Maryann is also the creator, writer, producer, and host of the Telly award-winning healthy living cooking series, cookbooks, and blog, Simply Delicious Living® with Maryann. The series is broadcast on PBS-TV station KVCR in Southern California, DirecTV, DishTV, and a global audience on YouTube (youtube.com/MaryannRidiniSpencer) and Maryann’s blog at SimplyDeliciousLiving.com.

As a journalist, Maryann has served as a food and lifestyle writer and contributing editor for such publications as Palm Springs Life Magazine, Desert Magazine, Ventura County Star, and Los Angeles Magazine.

Maryann is the author of the award-winning Kate Grace Novels (Lady in the Window, The Paradise Table, Secrets of Grace Manor, Under the Tropical Skies) and the Lavender Hill Cove Novels Lavender Hill Cove (winner of the 2024 International Impact Book Award for Christian Fiction, the 2024 Book Excellence Award Winner for Christian Fiction, and the 2024 Maincrest Media Book Award Winner for Women’s Fiction), and her latest book in the series is Once Upon a Cove Christmas, a 2025 International Impact Book Awards Winner and a 2025 American Legacy Book Award Winner both in Christian Fiction. Her latest nonfiction book is The Mary Garden (which ranked #3 in Christian Poetry on Amazon Kindle). Author of the Simply Delicious Living® with Maryann—Entrées cookbook (Santa Rosa Press, 2019), Maryann also writes cookbooks and other nonfiction works.

On Saturday, October 4, 2025, Author, Screenwriter, and Producer Maryann Ridini Spencer won “Author of the Year” in the category of Christian Fiction at the 2025 International Impact Book Awards Black Tie Gala, which took place at 7:00 pm at the Lowe’s Hollywood Hotel, 1755 Highland Avenue in Los Angeles, CA. Over 400 people attended the event, which celebrates the world’s most impactful authors. Maryann’s novel, Once Upon a Cove Christmas, the second book in the Lavender Hill Cove novel series, was recently honored as a 2025 International Impact Book Award winner in the Christian Fiction category earlier this year. The novel tells a heartwarming story about the ‘true meaning of Christmas’ and why Christ came to the world, and how we can all learn compassion and understanding following His example. This past weekend’s event was to choose an “Author of the Year” in each category represented from around the world. More.