Author Profiles

Ohio has a rich literary heritage as well as some wonderful contemporary authors. Learn more about them here! You can sort by various categories and see who has participated in our annual book festival by using the category search on the left, or search by keyword (including partial author names) by using the search field on the right.

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Photo of Frederick Luis Aldama

Frederick Luis Aldama

Frederick Luis Aldama, aka Professor Latinx, is an award-winning author, co-author, editor, and coeditor of over 48 books. He is author of several children’s books, including The Adventures of Chupacabra Charlie (published in English and Spanish) and Con Papá / With Papá as well as co-creator of the animation short, Carlitos Chupacabra, currently on a world film festival tour.…Read More

Frederick Luis Aldama, aka Professor Latinx, is an award-winning author, co-author, editor, and coeditor of over 48 books. He is author of several children’s books, including The Adventures of Chupacabra Charlie (published in English and Spanish) and Con Papá / With Papá as well as co-creator of the animation short, Carlitos Chupacabra, currently on a world film festival tour. In 2022 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters and the Ohio State University’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion Hall of Fame.

Photo of Brian Alexander

Brian Alexander

I was born and raised in Lancaster, Ohio, home to the best county fair in the state, birthplace of William Tecumseh Sherman (sorry, Atlanta) and his brother John (author of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act). My grandfather, who knew both his churches and his bars, used to say that Lancaster had more of both than any town he’d ever seen.…Read More

I was born and raised in Lancaster, Ohio, home to the best county fair in the state, birthplace of William Tecumseh Sherman (sorry, Atlanta) and his brother John (author of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act). My grandfather, who knew both his churches and his bars, used to say that Lancaster had more of both than any town he’d ever seen. My mother and father met in Normandy, in 1944. She was an officer. He wasn’t. After the war they got married. My dad became a salesman. My mom became a mom. I have two brothers. I competed in sports that don’t impress girls — swimming, track, cross country. I voted in the great Rabbit v. Trix election, in favor of the Rabbit. I served a term as president of the Fairfield County Teenage Republicans. I’m pretty sure the other members elected me so they’d have more time to make out with each other. After crushing my mother with the news that I was not going to law school, I became a writer like I’d always wanted. I wrote my first short story at age five. It was supposed to be about Dan’l Boone, but if you were to read it you’d say it’s really more about Fess Parker and Ed Ames. Since then, I’ve written for many magazines and newspapers like The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Science, Outside, Esquire, and MIT Technology Review. I spent five years as Glamour magazine’s Jake columnist, then became a contributing editor there. I was also a contributing editor at Wired where I covered biotechnology. Today I write books, mostly, and contribute to the Atlantic as well as Outside and other magazines. A reporter once asked me why I write what I write. I wanted to say something all vision-y and wound up giving an embarrassingly pretentious answer. I write what I write in hopes you’ll be interested. I am. Things get under my skin and I need to scratch.

I once won an altar boy award. I’d like to say it was because of excellent incensing, or candle lighting, but it was mainly for showing up. I also won an essay contest in the eighth grade. They gave me a $25 U.S. savings bond. I’ve been a finalist for the National Magazine Award, and been recognized by the John Bartlow Martin Award for public interest journalism administered by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. I’ve also been honored with the Ohioana Book Award for non-fiction, Books By the Banks book festival, and been a finalist for the California Book Awards. Addiction to good movies, mainly old ones, is a monkey on my back. I surf. I drink my own cocktails. I’ve spent years trying to learn blues harp, so if someday you see me standing on a corner wailing “Hootchie Cootchie Man,” drop a few shekels in the hat, OK?

Check out his website: https://brianralexander.com/

 

Photo of Lisa Amstutz

Lisa Amstutz

Lisa Amstutz is the author of more than 150 books for children. She holds degrees in Biology and Environmental Science. A former outdoor educator, she specializes in topics related to nature, sustainability, and agriculture. Lisa lives with her family on a small farm in Ohio. https://www.lisaamstutz.comRead More

Lisa Amstutz is the author of more than 150 books for children. She holds degrees in Biology and Environmental Science. A former outdoor educator, she specializes in topics related to nature, sustainability, and agriculture. Lisa lives with her family on a small farm in Ohio. https://www.lisaamstutz.com

Photo of Breshea Anglen

Breshea Anglen

Breshea is a fantasy author with a penchant for penning stories with magical realism, adventure, and romance, centering BIPOC characters. She attended BGSU and obtained both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Education. After graduating from BGSU in 2016, Breshea returned to Cleveland and began her career as a middle school English teacher. During this time, she self-published her first novel, A Shrouded Spark.…Read More

Breshea is a fantasy author with a penchant for penning stories with magical realism, adventure, and romance, centering BIPOC characters. She attended BGSU and obtained both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Education. After graduating from BGSU in 2016, Breshea returned to Cleveland and began her career as a middle school English teacher. During this time, she self-published her first novel, A Shrouded Spark. Breshea resides in Cleveland with her daughter and family. Check out her website at: https://www.bresheaanglen.com.

Photo of David Baker

David Baker

David Baker is author of thirteen books of poetry, recently Whale Fall, published in July 2022 by W. W. Norton, and Swift: New and Selected Poems, as well as six books of prose about poetry. Among his awards are prizes and grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, NEA, Mellon Foundation, and Poetry Society of America. Baker’s poetry and essays have appeared in American Poetry Review, The Atlantic, The Nation, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Poetry, and others.…Read More

David Baker is author of thirteen books of poetry, recently Whale Fall, published in July 2022 by W. W. Norton, and Swift: New and Selected Poems, as well as six books of prose about poetry. Among his awards are prizes and grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, NEA, Mellon Foundation, and Poetry Society of America. Baker’s poetry and essays have appeared in American Poetry Review, The Atlantic, The Nation, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Poetry, and others. He served for many years as Poetry Editor of The Kenyon Review, where he continues to curate the annual eco-poetry issue, “Nature’s Nature.” Baker lives in Granville, Ohio.

 

Photo of Karina Bartow

Karina Bartow

Karina Bartow grew up and still lives in Northern Ohio. Though born with Cerebral Palsy, she’s never allowed her disability to define her. Rather, she’s used her experiences to breathe life into characters who have physical limitations, but like her, are determined not to let them stand in the way of the life they want. Her works include Husband in Hiding; Forgetting My Way Back to You; Brother of Interest; Wrong Line, Right Connection; and Accidental Allies.…Read More

Karina Bartow grew up and still lives in Northern Ohio. Though born with Cerebral Palsy, she’s never allowed her disability to define her. Rather, she’s used her experiences to breathe life into characters who have physical limitations, but like her, are determined not to let them stand in the way of the life they want. Her works include Husband in Hiding; Forgetting My Way Back to You; Brother of Interest; Wrong Line, Right Connection; and Accidental Allies. She may only be able to type with one hand, but she writes with her whole heart!

To learn more, visit http://www.KarinaBartow.com.

Photo of Tom Batiuk

Tom Batiuk

Tom Batiuk is a graduate of Kent State University. His celebrated Funky Winkerbean comic strip concluded its 50-year run on December 31, 2022. Its spinoff, Crankshaft, is still carried in hundreds of newspapers throughout the United States. Batiuk was a finalist in the editorial cartooning category of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize awards for the singular series of daily comic strips that chronicled the death of longtime character Lisa Moore, which were collected in the Lisa’s Legacy Trilogy.…Read More

Tom Batiuk is a graduate of Kent State University. His celebrated Funky Winkerbean comic strip concluded its 50-year run on December 31, 2022. Its spinoff, Crankshaft, is still carried in hundreds of newspapers throughout the United States. Batiuk was a finalist in the editorial cartooning category of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize awards for the singular series of daily comic strips that chronicled the death of longtime character Lisa Moore, which were collected in the Lisa’s Legacy Trilogy. His Funky Winkerbean series and Roses in December were finalists for the 2016 Eisner Awards. https://tombatiuk.com/.

Photo of Lindsay Bonilla

Lindsay Bonilla

Lindsay Bonilla is a professional storyteller and children’s book author from North Canton, Ohio. She lives with her husband, two wild and creative kids, and her dog, Blitzen. While earning her Bachelor’s degree in theatre and religion at Northwestern University, she fell in love with folktales and world travel. Lindsay has performed interactive theatre, shared stories and taught workshops all over the world.…Read More

Lindsay Bonilla is a professional storyteller and children’s book author from North Canton, Ohio. She lives with her husband, two wild and creative kids, and her dog, Blitzen. While earning her Bachelor’s degree in theatre and religion at Northwestern University, she fell in love with folktales and world travel. Lindsay has performed interactive theatre, shared stories and taught workshops all over the world. Her picture books include THE STORYTELLER, THE NOTE WHO FACED THE MUSIC, I LOVE YOU WITH ALL OF MY HEARTS, and POLAR BEAR ISLAND. When she’s not writing or performing, Lindsay loves to run, travel, eat spicy foods and brainstorm book ideas with her family. Learn more at http://www.lindsaybonilla.com

 

 

Photo of Tim Bowers

Tim Bowers

Tim Bowers fueled his childhood imagination with comic book superheroes, television comedies and his grandparents’ many animals, including dogs, cats, chickens, a talking parrot, a house pig and a squirrel monkey, named Joe. It’s no surprise that Tim’s career in illustration would be filled with humorous stories and animal characters. Bowers has illustrated over fifty children’s books, including collaborations with Olympian Kristy Yamaguchi (Dream Big, Little Pig!…Read More

Tim Bowers fueled his childhood imagination with comic book superheroes, television comedies and his grandparents’ many animals, including dogs, cats, chickens, a talking parrot, a house pig and a squirrel monkey, named Joe. It’s no surprise that Tim’s career in illustration would be filled with humorous stories and animal characters. Bowers has illustrated over fifty children’s books, including collaborations with Olympian Kristy Yamaguchi (Dream Big, Little Pig!) and singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins (Footloose). Several of Bowers’ books have been New York Times Bestsellers and he has received numerous state book awards, including the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Award, for the book Memoirs of a Tortoise. When he isn’t creating art for a children’s book, he is probably strumming his ukulele and writing songs… filled with humor and animal characters. Tim and his family live in Ohio. To find out more about Tim and his art, visit http://www.timbowers.com.

Photo of Kristy Boyce

Kristy Boyce

Kristy Boyce played her first role-playing game in high school and has been friends with that group ever since. In fact, she even married the Dungeon Master. Nowadays, she teaches psychology as a senior lecturer at The Ohio State University. When she’s not spending time with her husband and son, she’s usually writing, reading, or watching happy reality TV.…Read More

Kristy Boyce played her first role-playing game in high school and has been friends with that group ever since. In fact, she even married the Dungeon Master. Nowadays, she teaches psychology as a senior lecturer at The Ohio State University. When she’s not spending time with her husband and son, she’s usually writing, reading, or watching happy reality TV. Kristy is the author of Hot British Boyfriend and Hot Dutch Daydream, and lives in Pickerington, Ohio.