Ohio 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.

If you would like to know which Ohio authors and illustrators are available for school and library visits or workshops, visit our School & Library Visits page here.

We continue to add authors, so check back soon!

 

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Photo of Christopher Bachelder

Christopher Bachelder

Chris Bachelder's fourth novel, The Throwback Special, was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award and the winner of The Paris Review's Terry Southern Prize for humor. His other novels include Abbott Awaits, U.S.!, and Bear v. Shark. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Cincinnati, where he teaches writing at the University of Cincinnati.Read More

Chris Bachelder’s fourth novel, The Throwback Special, was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award and the winner of The Paris Review’s Terry Southern Prize for humor. His other novels include Abbott Awaits, U.S.!, and Bear v. Shark. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Cincinnati, where he teaches writing at the University of Cincinnati.

Photo of Jennifer Bahney

Jennifer Bahney

Jennifer Bowers Bahney is an award-winning journalist and newspaper editor with a master’s degree from Northwestern University and a BA in history from Smith College. She has written and produced both local news and internationally for CNN. Her first book, "Stealing Sisi’s Star," was a finalist for the 2016 Ohioana Book Award in Nonfiction. She lives in central Ohio with her daughter and German Shepherd Dog, Kaiserin Viktoria.Read More

Jennifer Bowers Bahney is an award-winning journalist and newspaper editor with a master’s degree from Northwestern University and a BA in history from Smith College. She has written and produced both local news and internationally for CNN. Her first book, “Stealing Sisi’s Star,” was a finalist for the 2016 Ohioana Book Award in Nonfiction. She lives in central Ohio with her daughter and German Shepherd Dog, Kaiserin Viktoria.

Photo of David Baker

David Baker

Poet David Baker teaches at Denison University and is the poetry editor for the Kenyon Review. His latest collection of poems, Scavenger Loop, will be introduced at the 2015 Ohioana Book Festival.

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Poet David Baker teaches at Denison University and is the poetry editor for the Kenyon Review. His latest collection of poems, Scavenger Loop, will be introduced at the 2015 Ohioana Book Festival.

Thomas E. Barden

Thomas E. Barden is Professor of English and Dean of the Honors College at the University of Toledo.Read More

Thomas E. Barden is Professor of English and Dean of the Honors College at the University of Toledo.

Cheryl Bardoe

Cheryl Bardoe combines her passion for writing and her curiosity about the world to create award-winning books for young readers. She has an MFA in writing for children and enjoys talking with young readers and their parents and educators at schools, libraries, literacy institutes and other events. She studied journalism at Northwestern University and has worked in public relations and in the exhibitions department at Chicago’s Field Museum.…Read More

Cheryl Bardoe combines her passion for writing and her curiosity about the world to create award-winning books for young readers. She has an MFA in writing for children and enjoys talking with young readers and their parents and educators at schools, libraries, literacy institutes and other events. She studied journalism at Northwestern University and has worked in public relations and in the exhibitions department at Chicago’s Field Museum. Over the years, Bardoe has written everything from five-word marketing slogans to policy reports, brochures, magazine articles, education pieces, direct mail letters, annual reports, press kits, newsletters, websites and text for a museum exhibition about dinosaurs from China. She’s even written signs telling people where to find the bathrooms! Bardoe grew up in Columbus, Ohio and is a graduate of Columbus Alternative High School. She currently lives in Chicago with her family.

Photo of Tom Barlow

Tom Barlow

Tom Barlow’s stories may be found in the science-fiction novel I’ll See You Yesterday and the literary short story collection Welcome to the Goat Rodeo, as well as in several anthologies, including Best American Mystery Stories 2013 and Best New Writing 2011. His work has also appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including Redivider, Temenos, The Apalachee Review, Hobart, Needle, The William and Mary Review, and Hiss Quarterly.Read More

Tom Barlow’s stories may be found in the science-fiction novel I’ll See You Yesterday and the literary short story collection Welcome to the Goat Rodeo, as well as in several anthologies, including Best American Mystery Stories 2013 and Best New Writing 2011. His work has also appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including Redivider, Temenos, The Apalachee Review, Hobart, Needle, The William and Mary Review, and Hiss Quarterly.

Photo of Rebecca Barnhouse

Rebecca Barnhouse

Rebecca writes books about—and inspired by—the Middle Ages. She earned her doctorate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and medieval literature written in Old and Middle English, Old Norse, and other fascinating languages. A native of Vero Beach, Florida, she now lives in Ohio, where is a professor of English at Youngstown State University.…Read More

Rebecca writes books about—and inspired by—the Middle Ages. She earned her doctorate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and medieval literature written in Old and Middle English, Old Norse, and other fascinating languages. A native of Vero Beach, Florida, she now lives in Ohio, where is a professor of English at Youngstown State University.

When she was growing up, reading was like breathing to Rebecca. It still is. She loved the Little House books, and fought with her brother over books in the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series. Later, she discovered science fiction and fantasy, from The Lord of the Rings to Arthur C. Clarke to Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea series and many, many other books that she and her best friend shared. They still do.

Photo by Carl Leet

Mike Bartell

Mike Bartell, a lifelong resident of Toledo, Ohio, covered numerous space shuttle missions during his award-winning thirty-five-year career as a reporter and editor at The Blade in Toledo. He also taught journalism at the University of Toledo for more than thirty years.Read More

Mike Bartell, a lifelong resident of Toledo, Ohio, covered numerous space shuttle missions during his award-winning thirty-five-year career as a reporter and editor at The Blade in Toledo. He also taught journalism at the University of Toledo for more than thirty years.

Photo of Vidas Barzdukas

Vidas Barzdukas

Vidas Barzdukas is an award-winning writer and director whose films have been screened at numerous U.S. film festivals, featured on PBS stations, and broadcast on television networks in Asia. In 2015, Vidas earned accolades from the Columbus Dispatch for his “stirring and amusing” stage adaptation of Rafael Sabatini’s 1922 swashbuckling novel Captain Blood. His film, the black-and-white fantasy “The New Mr.…Read More

Vidas Barzdukas is an award-winning writer and director whose films have been screened at numerous U.S. film festivals, featured on PBS stations, and broadcast on television networks in Asia. In 2015, Vidas earned accolades from the Columbus Dispatch for his “stirring and amusing” stage adaptation of Rafael Sabatini’s 1922 swashbuckling novel Captain Blood. His film, the black-and-white fantasy “The New Mr. Phillips,” won Best Narrative Short at the Oregon Film Awards, and he also won the Best Screenwriting award for his short film “Cold” at the Cincinnati Winterfilm Film Competition. Vidas was nominated for “Best Writer—Drama” by the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV) for his work on the science fiction series Aidan 5, which was nominated for 19 IAWTV awards. Vidas is a writer on the Emmywinning Nite Owl Theatre starring Fritz the Nite Owl, which is a long-running, late-night staple of Central Ohio’s film scene. In addition to theatre and film, Vidas works in educational publishing, where he writes a wide variety of textbooks and classroom materials for K-12 students. His educational publishing subjects include reading, language arts, and history. Vidas’s passion for education also earned him a spot on the Emmy-winning children’s show Taylor’s Attic as its Educational Writing Consultant. A proud member of the Dramatists Guild, Vidas lives in Ohio with his wife and two daughters.

Photo of Will Bashor

Will Bashor

Will Bashor has an M.A. degree in French literature from Ohio University and a Ph.D. in International Studies from the American Graduate School in Paris where he gathered letters, newspapers, journals, and plays during his research for his first book, Marie Antoinette's Head: The Royal Hairdresser, the Queen, and the Revolution. Professor at Franklin University and a member of the Society for French Historical Studies, his newest work, Marie Antoinette's Darkest Days: Prisoner No.…Read More

Will Bashor has an M.A. degree in French literature from Ohio University and a Ph.D. in International Studies from the American Graduate School in Paris where he gathered letters, newspapers, journals, and plays during his research for his first book, Marie Antoinette’s Head: The Royal Hairdresser, the Queen, and the Revolution. Professor at Franklin University and a member of the Society for French Historical Studies, his newest work, Marie Antoinette’s Darkest Days: Prisoner No. 280 in the Conciergerie, recounts the fallen queen’s final days in a fetid, dark dungeon cell. Visit him at http://willbashor.com/.