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!
Diane Stortz
Diane Stortz is a multipublished author who writes to make God’s wonders known to the next generation. Her newest children’s releases are Stop-and-Go Devotions: 52 Devotions for Busy Parents and God’s Words to Dream On, both from Tommy Nelson. Diane’s books for women encourage them to know God’s Word, the Bible. Diane and her husband have two married daughters and five young grandchildren—all boys! Visit her at http://www.DianeStortz.com.
Dan Stout
Dan Stout lives in Columbus, Ohio, where he writes noir with a twist of magic and a disco chaser. His prize-winning fiction draws on his travels throughout Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim, as well as an employment history spanning everything from subpoena server to assistant well driller. Dan’s stories have appeared in publications such as The Saturday Evening Post, Nature, and Mad Scientist Journal. TITAN SONG is the third volume in The Carter Archives from DAW Books. You can follow him on Facebook or your social media site of choice.
Robert Allen Stowe
Jessica Strawser
Jessica Strawser is author of the book club favorites Almost Missed You; Not That I Could Tell (a Book of the Month bestseller); Forget You Know Me; and A Million Reasons Why, named to Most Anticipated lists from Goodreads, SheReads, Frolic & E! News. Her latest, The Next Thing You Know, is a 2022 People Magazine Pick for Best New Novel (all from St. Martin’s Press). She is editor-at-large for Writer’s Digest magazine; has written for The New York Times Modern Love, Publishers Weekly, and others; and is a popular speaker at writing conferences. She lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati, where she was named 2019 Writer-in-Residence for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Learn more at: https://jessicastrawser.com/
Frances Smith Strickland
Frances Smith Strickland brings to The Little Girl Who Grew Up To Be Governor the perspective of an educational psychologist who believes that the clues to meaningful life work are found in a person’s early childhood traits.
Frances was born and reared on a farm in Simpsonville, Kentucky. She received a B.S. degree in education from Murray State University, a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from the University of Colorado, and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Kentucky. Prior to writing this book, she authored a screening test for children entering kindergarten. Most of her professional life has been spent in public education where she tried to help children with learning problems succeed in the learning environment.
Frances married a fellow psychologist, Ted Strickland, and moved to Ohio. When he entered politics, she left her field of education for a time, and became first Chief-of-Staff. After 12 years in the Congress, Ted was elected as Governor of Ohio and Frances became First Lady. In this role, her attention and energy was focused on children and families. She also worked with non-profits to broaden the scope of education by initiating the Governor’s Institute on Creativity and Innovation in Public Education.
The first edition of The Little Girl Who Grew Up To Be Governor was published in 1991. Frances wanted to document for the children of Kentucky—especially the girls—that women make wonderful leaders, and that they start out in life just like most little girls do. She wanted them to know that women can accomplish big dreams and how one woman—against all odds— made that happen. Thirty years later, as a resident of Ohio, she revised the book to explain in developmentally appropriate language more detail about how the political process works and the important role of government in improving the lives of everyone than was true in the original publication.
Now retired, Frances is focused on joining with others who are concerned that the mood of our country has shifted dangerously away from the collective good and community well-being. Using simple stories, she wants this read-aloud book to remind children that while times and circumstances always change, the need to treat each other fairly and to share never changes.
Amy Stross
Amy Stross is a garden writer and educator, and the author of The Suburban Micro-Farm: Modern Solutions for Busy People. As a permaculture designer, she specializes in ecologically regenerative and productive landscapes. She lives in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and mischievous farm cat. Her current adventure is transforming a 3-acre property into a micro-farm. She writes about small-scale permaculture on her website, TenthAcreFarm.com.
Walt Sturgeon
Walt Sturgeon is a field mycologist with over forty years of experience studying and identifying mushrooms. His photos of mushroom and fungi, some award-winning, can be seen in numerous mushroom field guide publications, three of which he coauthored. One of these, Mushrooms of the Northeast, was awarded the best field guide of 2016 by the National Outdoor Writers Association.
Tracy Subisak
Tracy Subisak studied industrial design in school, subsequently working in the field internationally for seven years, designing computers for the future, before turning her focus to freelance illustration and design.
Tracy’s debut author/illustrated picture book Jenny Mei Is Sad (Little Brown) will be published in June 2021. She is the illustrator of several picture books including Grizzly Boy, Cy Makes a Friend, and Shawn Loves Sharks, which received a starred review from Kirkus, was a Junior Library Guild selection, and received a 2018 Washington State Book Award. Upcoming nonfiction picture book title Wood, Wire, Wings by Kirsten Larson is a bio of Emma Lilian Todd, the first woman to successfully design and engineer a working airplane.
Tracy is the proud daughter of a Taiwanese mother who was a Chinese language instructor and art teacher, and an American father, son of Polish and Slovakian immigrant parents, who is an engineer. She was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, has lived in Taiwan, South Korea, NY, and San Francisco, and now makes her home in the PNW in Portland, OR. She is always eager to go adventuring and is a true believer that experience begets the best stories.
Sam Subity
Sam Subity loves writing stories that explore the magic and wonder of being a kid and is thrilled to share his writing with readers everywhere—both the young in age and the young at heart. When he’s not writing, you might find him running the trails of northern California where the endless, winding miles past fog and ocean inspire stories of adventure and mystery. Or he might be mowing his lawn. Because that’s what adults sometimes have to do. But in either case, Sam is very likely imagining himself fighting mythical creatures or at the prow of a dragon ship feeling the wind and sea spray on his face alongside his own Viking queen and their two Vikelets. His greatest hope is that in reading his books, you too may be transported to another place where, for a little while, you can exchange the ordinary for the extraordinary. https://www.samsubity.com
Jeff Suess
Jeff Suess is the author of Lost Cincinnati and Hidden History of Cincinnati (The History Press) and the librarian of the Cincinnati Enquirer, where he keeps the newspaper archive and writes about Cincinnati history. He regularly does presentations on local history and leads discussions on graphic novels at the Mercantile Library and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Jeff also writes fiction and has had stories published by Pocket Books, Post Mortem Press and DC Comics.
Jeff grew up in Modesto, California, and graduated from San Francisco State University. He lives in White Oak on Cincinnati’s West Side with his wife, Kristin, and their daughter, Dashiell.