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!
Jen Devon
Jen Devon writes cinematic contemporary romances about complicated, imperfect people finding their perfect match.A former biology academic and lecturer, she currently works in the tech industry and dreams of writing full-time. She’s an avid gardener, photographer, and boardgamer, a thrift store enthusiast and unapologetic nerd. She’s a mom of five (three kids, two rescue mutts) and lives in central Ohio with her engineer husband. https://jendevon.com/
Srirupa Dhar
Srirupa Dhar is Indian by birth and has been living in the United States since 1998. She completed her M.A. and M.Phil. from University of Calcutta, India. She has a third Master’s degree in English with Technical Writing Certification from University of Alabama in Huntsville, U.S.A. Srirupa taught as a young college lecturer in Calcutta, West Bengal and as a junior high school teacher in Columbus, Ohio. She has also worked as an interpreter in Columbus. She is a voracious reader and takes an avid delight in many forms of art. Currently, she is a writer, primarily of fiction. Her debut novel called “For A Drop Of Rice-Water” has recently been published by a traditional publishing house. Some of her short stories have been published in “The Bangalore Review”, “The Seattle Star”, “The Statesman” and “Café Dissensus.” One of her short stories has been published in “Muffled Moans Unleashed”, an anthology on child abuse and sexual violence. Some of her nonfictional works have appeared in collections of essays. One of her distinguished nonfictional articles called “Self-realization of Women through Binaries in Chokher Bali and Ghare Baire” has been published in “Reading Rabindranath: The Myriad Shades of a Genius.” Occasionally, Srirupa acts in plays in Columbus. She is part of an amateur dramatic society.
Meredith Doench
Meredith Doench is the author of the Luce Hansen thriller series and Whereabouts Unknown. Her writing has also appeared in many literary journals. She is a board member of Mystery Writers of America, Midwest Chapter, and is a senior lecturer of creative writing, literature, and composition at the University of Dayton in Ohio. For more information about this author and to view book purchase information, visit http://www.meredithdoench.com
Joyce Dyer
Joyce Dyer is a nonfiction writer who was raised in Akron. Her books include In a Tangled Wood: An Alzheimer’s Journey, Gum Dipped: A Daughter Remembers Rubber Town, and Goosetown: Reconstructing an Akron Neighborhood. Her essays have appeared in publications such as the North American Review and the New York Times, as well as anthologies. She has taught English and writing at Western Reserve Academy and Hiram College—where she directed the Lindsay-Crane Center for Writing and Literature. She’s received prizes such as the Appalachian Book of the Year Award, the David B. Saunders Award in Creative Nonfiction, and Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards. Pursuing John Brown: On the Trail of a Radical Abolitionist (2022), her new book, is a mix of memoir, biography, history, and travel writing and begins in Hudson, where John Brown grew up—and where the author now lives. To understand her ambivalence toward this controversial American figure, she sets out on a ten-year journey to John Brown sites across the country. The process forces her to confront hard questions about America—and herself.
Jeffrey Ebbeler
Jeffrey Ebbeler has been creating art for children for over 20 years. He has illustrated over 50 children’s books and has given many lectures at grade schools, colleges and museums about the process of bringing words to life through pictures. Jeffrey currently lives in Cincinnati with his wife and twin daughters. Learn more at his website: https://jeffillustration.com/
Kathy S. Elasky
Kathy S Elasky is a retired teacher/counselor from SE Ohio. She lives on a small farm with her husband, dogs, one cat, several squirrels and the occasional raccoon and possum. She loves reading to her grandkids, sewing, church activities and of course writing and illustrating books.
Alex Erickson
Alex Erickson is the author of both the Bookstore Café and the Furever Pets mysteries. When he’s not writing, he enjoys spending his time gaming or playing music. He lives in Ohio with his wife, son, and their three crazy cats. He can be found online at alexericksonbooks.com/
Erin Flanagan
Erin Flanagan’s latest novel Blackout (Thomas & Mercer) was an Amazon First Reads selection for June 2022. She is the author of Deer Season (University of Nebraska Press), winner of the 2022 Edgar for Best First Novel by an American Author and a Finalist for the Macavity Award for Best First Mystery, as well as two short story collections (UNP). Erin is an English professor at Wright State University and a regular book reviewer for Publishers Weekly. https://erinflanagan.net/
Patti Flinn
Patti Flinn is an author and novelist from central Ohio who loves food, books, cool jazz, and … food.
Patti’s life-long love of books organically led to a B.A. in English learning to analyze literature. The unique perspective taught her that literature was about so much more than proper grammar and the story on the page. Armed with this knowledge she eventually gave in to the urge to share her own writing, self-publishing the suspense novel, The List, set in the deep south. Though not widely known, the great reviews convinced her that maybe writing was going to be a thing.
Under the pen name, Ava Bleu—proponent of extraordinary love—Patti released The Diva of Peddler’s Creek (winner of Romance Writer’s ink Best Comedy) and Glorious Sunset (finalist, Phyllis Wheatley Award for Fiction). She later penned a different kind of love story with The Ivyhurst Series, delving into relationships among couples and neighbors in a town slowly being gentrified.
In addition to her fiction works Patti has been a grant-writer, a ghostwriter, a copywriter, and her work was featured in The Writer Magazine, The Ascent, and Thrive Global. And when serving the community, efforts have often been related to the area she loves, working as a literacy tutor for the Columbus Literacy Council and ColumbusReads.
As writers often do, Patti has gone through periods of not writing. It was during one of these periods that she indulged her love of baking and started a Cottage Bakery business that, almost immediately, took a back seat due to the pandemic which caused the need to write to go haywire. As a result, fewer calories around the house and a brand-new genre of writing: historical fiction. In September 2022 she released Véronique’s Journey, the story of a young woman of African descent in 18th-century France. The novella is both a parallel introduction to an upcoming full-length series based on a French historical figure, expected to roll out in 2023.
A believer in the importance of literature, communication, the arts, and community service, Patti Flinn strives to encourage everyone to fulfill their dreams and find the “extraordinary” individual within.
Amanda Flower
Amanda Flower is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author of over thirty-five mystery novels. Her novels have received starred reviews from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Romantic Times, and she had been featured in USA Today, First for Women, and Woman’s World. She currently writes for Penguin-Random House (Berkley), Kensington, and Sourcebooks. In addition to being a writer, she was a librarian for fifteen years. Today, Flower and her husband own a farm and recording studio, and they live in Northeast Ohio with their adorable cats. http://www.amandaflower.com/