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 Jessica Weyer-Bentley

Jessica Weyer-Bentley

Jessica Weyer Bentley is an author/poet. Her first collection of poetry, Crimson Sunshine, was published in May 2020 by AlyBlue Media. Her second collection, Down Below Where the Canary Sings, was published in May of 2023 by Sage Owl Publishing in Massachusetts. She has contributed work to several publications for the Award-Winning Book Series, Grief Diaries.…Read More

Jessica Weyer Bentley is an author/poet. Her first collection of poetry, Crimson Sunshine, was published in May 2020 by AlyBlue Media. Her second collection, Down Below Where the Canary Sings, was published in May of 2023 by Sage Owl Publishing in Massachusetts. She has contributed work to several publications for the Award-Winning Book Series, Grief Diaries. Jessica’s work has been published in countless anthologies both in print and online. She is the Ohio Poetry Association Student Contest Chair. Jessica grew up in the hills of Eastern Kentucky and currently resides in Northwest Ohio with her husband, Larry, and her two children, Laura and Joseph.

Photo of Katie & Carrie Weyler

Katie & Carrie Weyler

Sisters, Katie and Carrie Weyler, are lifelong residents of Ohio.  Growing up, they lived on a small farm in the country with a horse, a goat, several adopted dogs and cats, and a couple of pigs that they showed in 4-H.  This inspired their love for animals, nature, and exploring the great outdoors.  Through their Charlie Tractor picture books, they hope to encourage all children to explore nature and spend time outside with the people they love.…Read More

Sisters, Katie and Carrie Weyler, are lifelong residents of Ohio.  Growing up, they lived on a small farm in the country with a horse, a goat, several adopted dogs and cats, and a couple of pigs that they showed in 4-H.  This inspired their love for animals, nature, and exploring the great outdoors.  Through their Charlie Tractor picture books, they hope to encourage all children to explore nature and spend time outside with the people they love. Visit them online at: https://charlietractor.com/

Photo of Nick White

Nick White

Nick White is the author of two books of fiction: Sweet & Low, a collection of stories, and How to Survive a Summer, a novel. His fiction and essays have appeared in The Kenyon Review, Indiana Review, Catapult, The Literary Review, Guernica, and elsewhere. He is an Assistant Professor of English at The Ohio State University.Read More

Nick White is the author of two books of fiction: Sweet & Low, a collection of stories, and How to Survive a Summer, a novel. His fiction and essays have appeared in The Kenyon Review, Indiana Review, Catapult, The Literary Review, Guernica, and elsewhere. He is an Assistant Professor of English at The Ohio State University.

Mary Ann Whitley

Mary Ann Whitley is a longtime journalist, currently a copy editor at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, and lives in the eastside suburb of University Heights, Ohio. She is the co-author of Ohio Tales of the Titanic, self-published in 2012, and the author of two earlier young adult novels which she plans to republish through self-publishing.…Read More

Mary Ann Whitley is a longtime journalist, currently a copy editor at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, and lives in the eastside suburb of University Heights, Ohio. She is the co-author of Ohio Tales of the Titanic, self-published in 2012, and the author of two earlier young adult novels which she plans to republish through self-publishing. She became interested in the Ohio Titanic story in 1998 when she met her co-author, Janet White, and discovered Ohio’s extensive ties to the disaster. Since then, she has researched the Northeast Ohio-bound passengers and interviewed a number of descendants. She has written articles for Titanic International Society’s quarterly journal, Voyage, and served as a trustee of the society for nine years. Mary Ann also has a personal connection to the Titanic, as her grandfather helped to build the ship in Belfast. For more information, visit her online at ohiotitanic.wordpress.com.

Photo of Julie Whitney

Julie Whitney

Julie Whitney is a public relations professional with forty years of experience in public relations and marketing, having worked on both the agency and client side as well as in the television industry. Her company, Phillippi-Whitney Communications, LLC, founded in 2000, represents both large and small clients in a wide variety of industries. She has promoted dozens of authors throughout her career, often supplementing the efforts of the internal PR teams of their publishers.…Read More

Julie Whitney is a public relations professional with forty years of experience in public relations and marketing, having worked on both the agency and client side as well as in the television industry. Her company, Phillippi-Whitney Communications, LLC, founded in 2000, represents both large and small clients in a wide variety of industries. She has promoted dozens of authors throughout her career, often supplementing the efforts of the internal PR teams of their publishers. She also works as on-camera talent, appearing in both television commercials and video podcasts. She even appeared as an extra in the movie Grease, which was shot on location in the summer of 1977 in Los Angeles. Learn more at: https://astrathelonelyairplane.com/

Photo of Annette Januzzi Wick

Annette Januzzi Wick

Annette Januzzi Wick is an author, writer and community connector. She grew up in northern Ohio. She graduated from the University of Akron with a Computer Science degree yet still sighs when her cell phone doesn’t work. For a time, she made her home in the Pacific Northwest until firmly planting her feet in Cincinnati. When she’s not writing, she is walking Cincinnati’s fifty-two neighborhoods or finding and making connections in the community.…Read More

Annette Januzzi Wick is an author, writer and community connector. She grew up in northern Ohio. She graduated from the University of Akron with a Computer Science degree yet still sighs when her cell phone doesn’t work. For a time, she made her home in the Pacific Northwest until firmly planting her feet in Cincinnati. When she’s not writing, she is walking Cincinnati’s fifty-two neighborhoods or finding and making connections in the community.

She is the founder Three Arch Press, and has previously published I’ll Be in the Car (2006). I’ll Have Some of Yours (2019) is based on her award-winning blog, Find You in the Sun (http://www.findyouinthesun.com), where additional essays appear.

Her writings have appeared in the Alzheimer’s Association’s Cornerstone, Erma Bombeck Humor Blog, Grief Becomes You: A Narrative of Loss, and Movers and Makers, and have received awards from Writer’s Digest, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, Sinclair College, and USA Book News.

Annette is available for speaking events, book signings and writing workshops. Visit annettejwick.com to purchase her book or learn more. I’ll Have Some of Yours is also available for order through Amazon and major distributors.

Photo of Kathy Wiechman

Kathy Wiechman

Kathy Cannon Wiechman is a former teacher and a lover of American history. She was awarded the 2015 Grateful American Book Prize for her debut novel LIKE A RIVER. Her newest novel NOT ON FIFTH STREET is loosely based on her father's experiences during the record-breaking Ohio River flood of 1937.Read More

Kathy Cannon Wiechman is a former teacher and a lover of American history. She was awarded the 2015 Grateful American Book Prize for her debut novel LIKE A RIVER. Her newest novel NOT ON FIFTH STREET is loosely based on her father’s experiences during the record-breaking Ohio River flood of 1937.

Photo of Dan Wilbur

Dan Wilbur

Dan Wilbur is a comedian, writer, and avid video game player living in Brooklyn, NY. He only eats fast food on weekends and occasionally exercises by accident (police, fire). He has read nearly half of nearly half of all the books he owns. If you like Dan, even a little, it’s probably because you’ve seen his writing or you’re his parents.…Read More

Dan Wilbur is a comedian, writer, and avid video game player living in Brooklyn, NY. He only eats fast food on weekends and occasionally exercises by accident (police, fire). He has read nearly half of nearly half of all the books he owns. If you like Dan, even a little, it’s probably because you’ve seen his writing or you’re his parents. His writing is featured on Collegehumor.com, McSweeney’s, and the Onion News Network. His is also the creator of Better Book Titles on Tumblr and author of the humor book How Not to Read.

Photo of Brieanna Wilkoff

Brieanna Wilkoff

Brieanna Wilkoff (she/her) believes wholeheartedly in the power of kindness, the importance of theatre, and the awesomeness of ’80s rock. She married her husband onstage at the oldest surviving theatre in central Ohio, and their first dance was to Bon Jovi’s “Thank You for Loving Me.” Her favorite musical is a three-way tie between Les Mis, Wicked, and Hamilton.…Read More

Brieanna Wilkoff (she/her) believes wholeheartedly in the power of kindness, the importance of theatre, and the awesomeness of ’80s rock. She married her husband onstage at the oldest surviving theatre in central Ohio, and their first dance was to Bon Jovi’s “Thank You for Loving Me.” Her favorite musical is a three-way tie between Les Mis, Wicked, and Hamilton.

I’ll Be There for You is Brieanna’s debut young adult novel. It was inspired by her family’s commitment to kindness, including performing 100 kind acts in a single day. Brieanna lives in Westerville, Ohio, with her husband, daughter, and dog. You can visit her online at brieannawilkoff.com or follow her on Twitter (@BrieannaWilkoff), Instagram (@brieanna_wilkoff), or Facebook (Brieanna Wilkoff).

Photo of Mark Willenbrink

Mark Willenbrink

Mark and Mary Willenbrink, best-selling authors of the Absolute Beginner series, have been working as a team in the publishing industry for decades. Sharing the fundamentals of art in understandable terms, they enjoy encouraging others to pursue their creative potential. Mark is also a fine artist, illustrator and teaches art classes and workshops. Mary is an author and a home school mom.…Read More

Mark and Mary Willenbrink, best-selling authors of the Absolute Beginner series, have been working as a team in the publishing industry for decades. Sharing the fundamentals of art in understandable terms, they enjoy encouraging others to pursue their creative potential. Mark is also a fine artist, illustrator and teaches art classes and workshops. Mary is an author and a home school mom. Mark and Mary live with their family and two mischievous cats in southwestern Ohio.

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