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!
Erin Alon Brain
Gary Buettner
Gary Buettner (Bit-ner) has been writing spooky stories since junior high, but he’s been making up his own superheroes and stories since he was a little kid. Once, he even won a ten-speed bike by making up his own superhero for a contest on the back of a cereal box! Buettner studied creative writing in college at Indiana University, where he won awards for his stories. Check out his website: https://gbuettner.wixsite.com/monsterpetsbooks
Marcy Campbell
Marcy Campbell is an award-winning author of picture books and middle-grade novels, which have earned praise from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, School Library Review, The Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, and many others. Her debut picture book was selected for the Junior Library Guild, chosen as a Top 10 Indie Next Pick, and was the recipient of awards including the Comstock Read Aloud and Crystal Kite Awards. Her books have been translated into eight languages and adapted for stage. Campbell lives in Ohio with her husband, two children and three furry companions. Visit her at http://marcycampbell.com/
Matthew Caracciolo
Matthew Caracciolo is the author of Moon Ohio and The Waygook Book: A Foreigner’s Guide to South Korea. As a travel writer, his work has appeared on Amateur Traveler, Only In Your State, Columbus Navigator, Columbus: A Book Project, and his blog Travel is Fatal on matthewcaracciolo.com. He’s currently a Tour Researcher and Writer with Shaka Guide and lives in the Columbus area with his family.
Mary Kay Carson
Mary Kay Carson is an author of books for young people about wildlife, space, weather, nature, and history. Her books have received more than a dozen starred reviews, as well as multiple awards, including the 2019 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books for Alexander Graham Bell for Kids. She’s written six titles in HMH’s acclaimed Scientists in the Field series, including The Bat Scientists, an ALA 2011 Notable Children’s Book and The Tornado Scientist, a State Library of Ohio Choose To Read Ohio (CTRO) title for 2021-22. She lives in the Northside neighborhood of Cincinnati.
Richard F. Celeste
Richard F. Celeste was the governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991. He has held a variety of positions in government and public service, most recently serving as president of Colorado College. He is currently a trustee of the Gates Family Foundation and Global Communities. The father of seven children, Celeste resides in Colorado with his wife, Jacqueline, and is involved with numerous charities.
Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar
Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar is an Indian American writer. Born to a middle-class family in India, she later migrated to the USA with her husband and son. She currently lives in the suburbs of Ohio. She is a technologist by profession and a writer by passion. Her stories and poems have appeared in numerous publications, print and online. Her work has been selected for Best Small Fictions 2022. She won first place in ELJ Micro Creative Non-Fiction Prize, placed in the Strands International Flash Fiction Festival. and is the runner-up for the Chestnut Review Chapbook Contest. Her stories have been shortlisted in the Bath Flash Fiction Awards and SmokeLong Micro Competition. She is currently a Prose Editor at Janus Literary and a Submissions Editor at SmokeLong Quarterly. Her debut flash fiction collection “Morsels of Purple” was released in 2021. More at https://saraspunyfingers.com. Reach her @PunyFingers
e.E. Charlton-Trujillo
e.E. Charlton-Trujillo has been deemed “a force of nature” by Kirkus Reviews for their activism with at-risk youth. A Mexican American author, filmmaker and youth literacy activist, Trujillo has penned a number of books for teens and children, most notably the Fat Angie series, an ALA Award winner and Choose to Read Ohio selection, and Prizefighter en Mi Casa, a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor winner. Their first picture book, Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules, co-authored with NYT bestseller Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by ALA award-winner Joe Cepeda, released June 2022. Their next collaboration with Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Keisha Morris is the highly anticipated A Girl Can Build Anything. Off the page, Trujillo is the co-founder of the nonprofit Never Counted Out whose mission is to offer books and creative mentorship to at-promise youth. They also co-host the IG Live artists series Off The Cuff. Check out their website here: https://www.eecharlton-trujillo.com
Cinda Williams Chima
Ohio-born author Cinda Williams Chima nearly failed first grade because she was always daydreaming. By junior high, she got in trouble for writing novels in class. Yet the magic of books took her from first grade failure to first generation college graduate to New York Times best-selling author of the Seven Realms, Heir Chronicles, and Shattered Realms teen fantasy series. Her newest series launched in November, 2022 with Children of Ragnarok (Balzer&Bray, HarperCollins.) It marries Norse mythology and magic with swordplay, romance and cut-throat politics. Find her website here: https://cindachima.com
Terreece M. Clarke
International bestselling author and journalist Terreece M. Clarke has written for a variety of websites, magazines, newspapers, and as a YA and children’s book reviewer for CommonSenseMedia.org.Her work has garnered the attention of the New York Times, Disney.com, and Jezebel.com, and her company’s digital marketing clients have landed media appearances for national outlets including Fox Business News, BET, CNN, Ebony Magazine, The Root, and MSNBC.com.As a successful writer, journalist, entrepreneur, mother of three, and wife to one, she is often asked to lead discussions on women and parenting issues, business strategies for writers and entrepreneurs, and diversity in media, pop culture, and tech.Terreece’s first book – “Olivia’s Potty Adventures” a potty training storybook featuring an African American character – spent 16 weeks as a #1 Amazon New Release – is the first book in a milestone series featuring children of color.Heartbeat: A Courageous Love Novel is her first adult romantic suspense novel and was originally released as a Kindle Vella series. The revamped print and ebook versions published in June 2022 became an international bestseller in two categories in September. https://terreececlarke.com