Announcing the 2023 Ohioana Book Award Finalists
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A scene from the 2016 Ohioana Book Awards ceremony (Photo by Mary Rathke)

A scene from the 2016 Ohioana Book Awards ceremony (Photo by Mary Rathke)

Ohioana Library is pleased to announce the finalists for the 82nd annual Ohioana Book Awards. First given in 1942, the awards are the second-oldest state literary prizes in the nation and honor outstanding works by Ohio authors and illustrators in five categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature, and Juvenile Literature. The sixth category, About Ohio or an Ohioan, may also include books by non-Ohio authors.

The recognition this year’s stellar list of authors has received includes the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the PEN America Literary Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Coretta Scott King Book Award, the Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honors, the Edgar Award, and the Kirkus Prize. Four finalists have had their works adapted for film and television. One finalist is a former Governor of Ohio; another is CNN’s Presidential Historian. Eight authors are previous Ohioana Book Award winners.

On June 1, Ohioana will kick off the tenth annual “30 Books, 30 Days,” our popular feature in which we profile one award finalist every day on our social media. This year, we have thirty-three finalists, expanding the feature by three books and three days!

In mid-June we’ll launch the annual Readers’ Choice Award poll. First held in 2016, the poll allows the public to vote online for their favorite book from among all the finalists.

Winners will be announced in July. The 2023 Ohioana Awards ceremony will be held at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus on Thursday, September 21. The finalists are:

Fiction

Hyde, Allegra. Eleutheria, Vintage

Ng, Celeste. Our Missing Hearts, Penguin

Okorafor, Nnedi. Noor, DAW

Scalzi, John. The Kaiju Preservation Society, Tor

Umrigar, Thrity. Honor, Algonquin Books

Nonfiction

Brinkley, Douglas. Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening, HarperCollins

Gay, Ross. Inciting Joy: Essays, Algonquin Books

Macy, Beth. Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis, Little, Brown and Company

Millard, Candice. River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile, Doubleday

Mufleh, Luma. Learning America: One Woman’s Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children, Mariner Books

About Ohio or an Ohioan

Celeste, Richard F. In the Heart of It All: An Unvarnished Account of My Life in Public Service, The Kent State University Press

Dyer, Joyce. Pursuing John Brown: On the Trail of a Radical Abolitionist, The University of Akron Press

Ervick, Kelcey. The Keeper: Soccer, Me, and the Law That Changed Women’s Lives, Avery

Jarrett, Gene Andrew. Paul Laurence Dunbar: The Life and Times of a Caged Bird, Princeton University Press

Schulz, Kathryn. Lost and Found: Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness, Random House

Schwartzman, Nancy and Nora Zelevansky. Roll Red Roll: Rape, Power, and Football in the American Heartland, Hachette Books

Poetry

Fagan, Kathy. Bad Hobby: Poems, Milkweed Editions

Freeman, Siaara. Urbanshee, Button Poetry

Hindi, Noor. Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow., Haymarket Books

Jones, Saeed. Alive at the End of the World, Coffee House Press

Wagner, Sara Moore. Swan Wife, Cider Press Review

Juvenile Literature

Campbell, Marcy. Illus. by Francesca Sanna. The More You Give, Knopf Books for Young Readers

Hale, Shannon. Illus. by Tracy Subisak. This Book is Not for You!, Dial Books

Hoefler, Kate. Illus. by Jessixa Bagley. Courage Hats, Chronicle Books

Kuo, Julia. Luminous: Living Things That Light Up the Night, Greystone Kids

Wang, Andrea. Illus. by Hyewon Yum. Luli and the Language of Tea, Neal Porter Books

Woodson, Jacqueline. Illus. by Rafael López. The Year We Learned to Fly, Nancy Paulsen Books

Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature

Brown, Echo. The Chosen One: A First-Generation Ivy League Odyssey, Christy Ottaviano Books

Haddix, Margaret Peterson. The School for Whatnots, Katherine Tegen Books

McCarthy, Cory. Man O’ War, Dutton Books for Young Readers

Nelson, Marilyn. Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life, Christy Ottaviano Books

Van Vleet, Carmella. Nothing is Little, Holiday House

Warga, Jasmine. A Rover’s Story, Balzer + Bray

The 2023 Ohioana Book Festival Authors
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Announcing the 2023 Ohioana Book Festival Authors!

2023 Ohioana Book Festival poster by Will Hillenbrand

We’re back!

Yes, the Ohioana Book Festival will once again be LIVE and IN PERSON this April . . . and you’re invited!

Join us as we present our 17th annual celebration of Ohio books and authors at the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Main Library on Saturday, April 22, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

It will be a fun-filled day with panel discussions, conversations, readings, and activities, plus an on-site book fair with The Book Loft of German Village where you can shop for books by your favorite festival authors and get them signed!

In addition to the main event, we’ll be presenting a number of outreach programs with community partners from all around Ohio. As we like to say, there’s something for every reader of every age at the Ohioana Book Festival!

Our thanks to Will Hillenbrand for creating this year’s festival poster, with its delightful “Buckeye Readers.” Will is just one of the more than 120 Ohio authors and illustrators who will be featured at this year’s event – see the complete list below.*

In the coming weeks, we’ll be adding more festival news and information on our website, blog, newsletter, and social media—be sure to check them often!

Mark your calendars now for April 22. We’ll see you at the festival!

FICTION

Karina Bartow

Tom Batiuk

Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar

Terreece M. Clarke

Abby Collette

Karin Cecile Davidson

Jen Devon

Srirupa Dhar

Meredith Doench

Alex Erickson

Erin Flanagan

Patti Flinn

Amanda Flower

Eileen Curley Hammond

Anastasia Hastings (aka Kylie Logan/Casey Daniels)

Nancy Herriman

Leanna Renee Hieber

Kip Knott

Jen Knox

Kathryn Long

Olivia Matthews

Josef Matulich

Jess Montgomery

Kerry Rea

Emilia Rosa

Jerry Roth

Lucy A. Snyder

Jessica Strawser

Don Tassone

Judith Turner-Yamamoto

Marie Vibbert

Wendy Vogel

Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Ticana Zhu

NONFICTION

Brian Alexander

Matthew Caracciolo

Richard F. Celeste

Renee Casteel Cook

Shane W. Croston

Mark Dawidziak

Guy Denny

Jessica Fries-Gaither

Chelsea Gottfried & Jim McCormac

John J. Grabowski

Larisa Harper

Edward P. Horvath

Teshauna L. Isaac

Judy Orr James

Robert Kroeger

John W. Kropf

Deseree Liddell & Mary Louise Ruehr

Jacqueline Lipton

David Meyers & Elise Meyers Walker

Bayyinah Monk-Nduaka

Brian Michael Murphy

Brad Ricca

Steven Rosen

Kathy Schulz

Jillian Scudder

Prince Shakur

Ric S. Sheffield

Nita Sweeney

Samantha Tucker & Amy Spears

Jane Ann Turzillo

POETRY

Mark M. Dean

Darren C. Demaree

Adam J. Gellings

Kari Gunter-Seymour

Manuel Iris

Megan Neville

Emily Patterson

Elana Pitts

Bonnie Proudfoot

Annette Dauphin Simon

Felicia Zamora

MIDDLE GRADE/YOUNG ADULT

Breshea Anglen

Kristy Boyce

Cinda Williams Chima

Margaret Peterson Haddix

Jason R. Lady

Terri Libenson

Mindy McGinnis

Jeff Miller

Wes Molebash

Stacy Nockowitz

Bryan Prosek

Mar Romasco-Moore

Jennifer Ann Shore

Erik Jon Slangerup

Tricia Springstubb

Frances Smith Strickland

Sara Bennett Wealer

Brieanna Wilkoff

Misty Wilson & David Wilson

JUVENILE

Frederick Luis Aldama

Lisa J. Amstutz

Lindsay Bonilla

Tim Bowers

Erin Alon Brain

Marcy Campbell

Mary Kay Carson

e.E. Charlton-Trujillo

Jean Colebank

Keila V. Dawson

Jeffrey Ebbeler

Kathy S. Elasky

Jacob Grant

S.R.D. Harris

Will Hillenbrand

Kate Hoefler

Florenza Lee

Margeaux Lucas

Allison Marks & Wayne Marks

Katie Mazeika

Dia Mixon

Samuel Narh & Freda Narh

Merrill Rainey

Blythe Russo

Jennifer Sommer

Carmella Van Vleet & Chiquita Mullins-Lee

Andrea Wang

Julie Whitney

*Author lineup may change without notice.

Announcing the 2022 Ohioana Book Award Winners
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Congratulations to all of the winners!

First given in 1942, the Ohioana Book Awards are the second oldest, and among the most prestigious, state literary prizes in the nation. Nearly every major writer from Ohio in the past 81 years has been honored, from James Thurber to Toni Morrison.

Six of the Ohioana Award winners, as well as the Marvin Grant recipient, were selected by juries. The Readers’ Choice Award was determined by voters in a public online poll. Nearly 2,000 votes were cast for this year’s Readers’ Choice Award.

Listed below are the 2022 Ohioana Book Award winners. Click on the title to learn more about the author and their winning book.

Fiction: Anthony Doerr, Cloud Cuckoo Land

Nonfiction: Hanif Abdurraqib, A Little Devil in America: Notes In Praise of Black Peformance

About Ohio or an Ohioan: Brian Alexander, The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town

Poetry: Felicia Zamora, I Always Carry My Bones

Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature: Jasmine Warga, The Shape of Thunder

Juvenile Literature: Andrea Wang, Watercress

Readers’ Choice: Manuel Iris, The Parting Present / Lo que se irá

Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant

Named for Ohioana’s second director, the Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant is awarded to an Ohio writer age 30 or younger who has not yet published a book. The 2022 Marvin Grant winner is Louise Ling Edwards. Edwards, an essayist and poet living in central Ohio, received her undergraduate degree from Oberlin College in Creative Writing and Neuroscience and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The Ohio State University. During her MFA, she worked as the Production Editor and Online Editor for OSU’s literary magazine The Journal and received the Helen Earnhart Harley Creative Writing Fellowship Award in both creative nonfiction and poetry. She is also the recipient of the Charles W. Medick Scholarship, which is awarded to students with a visual disability.

Her writing focuses on the joys and paradoxes of living as a biracial and bisexual woman by exploring tensions between hunger and abundance, loneliness and belonging. Her in-progress collection of essays, “Paper House,” reflects her experiences living in China’s Shanxi Province for two years, and moves through both haunted and tranquil spaces of a homeland from which she has long been separated. Currently, she advises students at OSU through her role as the Undergraduate Fellowship Coordinator. Her winning entry will appear in this fall’s Ohioana Quarterly.

Award Ceremony

The 2022 Ohioana Book Awards ceremony will be held on October 26 in the atrium of the Ohio Statehouse (tentatively in-person; please watch our website and social media for any possible changes). More information about the Awards and about purchasing tickets is coming soon. Congratulations to all of this year’s Ohioana Book Award winners!

Ohioana Announces the 2022 Ohioana Book Award Finalists
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A scene from the 2016 Ohioana Awards ceremony (Photo by Mary Rathke)

The Ohioana Library is pleased to announce the finalists for the 81st annual Ohioana Book Awards. First given in 1942, the awards are the second-oldest state literary prizes in the nation and honor outstanding works by Ohio authors and illustrators in five categories: Fiction, Poetry, Juvenile Literature, Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature, and Nonfiction. The sixth category, About Ohio or an Ohioan, may also include books by non-Ohio authors. 

This year’s stellar list includes a Pulitzer Prize winner, three finalists for the National Book Award, a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist, and winners of the Coretta Scott King Book Award, the Caldecott Medal, Newbery Honors, and the Kirkus Prize. Four finalists have had their works adapted for film and television. Eight authors are previous Ohioana Book Award winners and two are past recipients of Ohioana’s Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant for emerging writers. 

Beginning June 1, Ohioana will profile all the finalists with “30 Books, 30 Days,” a special feature on our social media in which one finalist is highlighted each day. Later in June, Ohioana will launch its seventh Readers’ Choice Award poll, allowing the public to vote online for their favorite book from the finalists. 

Winners will be announced in July. The 2022 Ohioana Awards ceremony will be held at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus on Wednesday, October 26. The finalists are: 

Fiction

Bethea, Jesse. Fellow Travellers, Bellwether 

Doerr, Anthony. Cloud Cuckoo Land, Scribner 

Gornichec, Genevieve. The Witch’s Heart, Ace 

Stine, Alison. Trashlands, MIRA 

Walter, Laura Maylene. Body of Stars, Dutton

Nonfiction 

Abdurraqib, Hanif. A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance, Random House 

Butcher, Amy. Mothertrucker: Finding Joy on the Loneliest Road in America, Little A 

Haygood, Wil. Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World , Alfred A. Knopf 

Orlean, Susan. On Animals, Avid Reader Press 

Schillace, Brandy. Mr. Humble & Dr. Butcher: A Monkey’s Head, the Pope’s Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul, Simon & Schuster

About Ohio or an Ohioan 

Abbott, Anneliese. Malabar Farm: Louis Bromfield, Friends of the Land, and the Rise of Sustainable Agriculture, The Kent State University Press 

Alexander, Brian. The Hospital: Life, Death, and Dollars in a Small American Town, St. Martin’s Press 

Baier, Bret, and Catherine Whitney. To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876, Custom House 

Broome, Brian. Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir, Mariner Books 

Shesol, Jeff. Mercury Rising: John Glenn, John Kennedy, and the New Battleground of the Cold War, W.W. Norton & Company 

Poetry 

Spencer, Emily. East Walnut Hills, Zone 3 Press

Bracken, Conor. The Enemy of My Enemy is Me, Diode Editions 

Iris, Manuel. The Parting Present / Lo que se irá, Dos Madres Press 

Kim, Joey S. Body Facts, Diode Editions 

Zamora, Felicia. I Always Carry My Bones, University of Iowa Press 

Juvenile Literature 

Campbell, Marcy. Illus. by Corinna Luyken. Something Good, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

Dawson, Keila V. Illus. by Alleanna Harris. Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book, Beaming Books 

Gorman, Amanda. Illus. by Loren Long. Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem, Viking Books for Young Readers 

Wang, Andrea. Illus. by Jason Chin. Watercress, Neal Porter Books 

Wynter, Anne. Illus. by Oge Mora. Everybody in the Red Brick Building, Balzer + Bray 

Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature 

Carson, Rae. Any Sign of Life, Greenwillow Books 

Draper, Sharon M. Out of My Heart, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books 

Kiely, Brendan. The Other Talk: Reckoning with Our White Privilege, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books 

Wang, Andrea. The Many Meanings of Meilan, Kokila 

Warga, Jasmine. The Shape of Thunder, Balzer + Bray 

Introducing…The 2022 Ohioana Book Festival Authors!
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The 16th Ohioana Book Festival is coming in April . . . and you’re invited!

The 2022 festival will be held virtually from April 29 through May 1. As we have done for the past two years, we decided to present the festival in this format to keep everyone safe as the pandemic continues. We’re delighted that we will still be able to share with you all the things you love about the Ohioana Book Festival, straight to your home in a virtual format: a fun-filled weekend featuring panel discussions, conversations, and readings. We’ll also have a number of virtual outreach programs with community partners from all around Ohio leading up to the main event.

110 Ohio authors and illustrators will be featured in the festival’s virtual programs. See the full list below. We’re sure you’ll see some of your favorites in this stellar lineup!

In the coming weeks, we’ll be adding more festival news and information on our website, blog, newsletter, and social media—be sure to check them often! And don’t forget to mark your calendars now for April 29-May 1. We’ll see you online as we celebrate 16 years of the Ohioana Book Festival!

Fiction:

Bree Baker

Karina Bartow

Tom Batiuk

Janet Beard

Connie Berry

Kinley Bryan

Mary Ellis

Erin Flanagan

Amanda Flower

Nancy Herriman

Leanna Renee Hieber

Anna Lee Huber

Allegra Hyde

Barbara Kussow

Tracy Lawson

Olivia Matthews

Tiffany McDaniel

Tim McWhorter

Jess Montgomery

Emilia Rosa

E.F. Schraeder

Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar

Carter Sickels

Jamie-Lyn Smith

Jyotsna Sreenivasan

Don Tassone

Thrity Umrigar

TG Wolff

Robin Yocum

Nonfiction:

Gloria G. Adams

Thomas Crowl

Raffaele Di Lallo

Christina Dorr

Michelle Fishpaw

Carole Genshaft

Marilyn S. Greenwald

Michael Griffith

John D. Harder

Wil Haygood

Mark Sebastian Jordan

Wendy Koile

Carolyn Bailey Lewis

Scott Longert

David Meyers & Elise Meyers Walker

Bayyinah Monk-Nduaka

Mary Newman

Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Janet S. Shailer

Dorri Steinhoff

John Thorndike

Donte Woods-Spikes

Poetry:

Pamela Anderson-Bartholet

George Bilgere

Marianne Chan

Darren C. Demaree

Pauletta Hansel

David Hassler

William Heath

Manuel Iris

Kip Knott

Paula J. Lambert

Wendy McVicker

Lucy A. Snyder

Myrna Stone

Laura Grace Weldon

Middle Grade & Young Adult:

Rachele Alpine

Lisa Amstutz

Chelsea Bobulski

Kristy Boyce

Gary Buettner

Mary Kay Carson

Sarah Anne Carter

e.E. Charlton-Trujillo

Sharon M. Draper

Margaret Peterson Haddix

Kerrie Hollihan

Brendan Kiely

Terri Libenson

Allison Marks & Wayne Marks

Mindy McGinnis

Morgan E. Perryman

Bryan Prosek

Natalie D. Richards

Mar Romasco Moore

Julie K. Rubini

Jennifer Ann Shore

Sam Subity

Juvenile & Picture Books:

Regina Bond

Lindsay Bonilla

Marcy Campbell

Mark Darden

Keila V. Dawson

JoAnn Deak

Jeff Ebbeler

Becky Gehrisch

Jacob Grant

Andrea Hall

S.R.D. Harris  

Will Hillenbrand

Kate Hoefler

Michelle Houts

Ryan Huntley

Leigh Lewis

Dia Mixon

Nomar Perez

Rox Siles

Tricia Springstubb

Tracy Subisak

Joe Sutphin

Donna Wyland

Celebrating the 80th Ohioana Book Awards!
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A screencap from the 2021 Ohioana Book Awards ceremony.

The Ohioana Library has been giving awards to recognize outstanding literary achievement since 1942. But 2021’s event was truly special as we virtually celebrated the awards’ 80th anniversary!

Ohioana’s Executive Director, David Weaver, served as master of ceremonies, with help from Ohioana board members and representatives of sponsors who introduced the award winners.

The award ceremony began with the presentation of the 2021 Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant to Hagan Faye Whiteleather. A competitive award for an emerging Ohio writer aged 30 or younger who has not yet published a book, the Marvin Grant has helped launch the careers of many successful authors, a number of whom have returned later as book award winners.

The presentation of the Ohioana Book Awards followed:

Readers’ Choice: Tiffany McDaniel, Betty

About Ohio or an Ohioan: Carole M. Genshaft, ed., Raggin’ On

Nonfiction: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, World of Wonders

Fiction: Carter Sickels, The Prettiest Star

Poetry: Marianne Chan, All Heathens

Juvenile Literature: Thrity Umrigar, Sugar in Milk

Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature: Jacqueline Woodson, Before the Ever After

After the ceremony, Dan Shellenbarger, head of the Ohio Channel and creator and host of their discussion program, Book Notes, moderated an authors’ roundtable with the winners in which they discussed their creative inspiration and their writing process.

As we did in 2020, we moved the awards ceremony online, due to the recent upsurge of COVID-19 cases. The Ohio Channel, our media partner, streamed the entire program live on Facebook and YouTube to thousands of viewers in Ohio and beyond. If you missed the program, or would like to see it again, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRu542oeE9A.

Copies of all of this year’s winning titles are available from our official bookseller, the Book Loft of German Village, at www.bookloft.com.

While we missed celebrating in person with authors and attendees, the virtual awards event was nonetheless a great success. Our thanks to everyone who made it so—sponsors, partners, presenters, and the Ohioana board and staff. And of course, all of this year’s award winners— congratulations once again!

Hopefully, we’ll be back live and in person next October at the Ohio Statehouse. We’d love to have you join us as we celebrate the 2022 Ohioana Book Awards!

The Ohio Literary Trail Expands!
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The new Toni Morrison Historical Marker at Lorain Historical Society. Photo by Kathryn Powers.

The Ohioana Library Association is excited to announce that its Ohio Literary Trail has expanded with the addition of seven new sites honoring Ohio literary greats.

Introduced in 2020, the Ohio Literary Trail connects readers and Ohio writers and shines the spotlight on Ohio’s unique role in shaping culture and literature worldwide.

Among the notable Ohioans honored with new sites are the first Black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, the journalist and travel writer who introduced the world to “Lawrence of Arabia,” the greatest female humorist of the past 60 years, a science fiction writer and screenwriter who wrote the script for The Empire Strikes Back, and the Union general who won the Civil War and penned the most acclaimed memoir of any American President.

Criteria for inclusion on the Trail includes nonliving people or places that illustrate Ohio’s contributions to the literary landscape or literature nationally or internationally. The sites are physical places tourists can visit year-round and share information to educate a visitor, such as museums, permanent library displays, historical homes, and Ohio Historical Markers. There are more than 1,800 markers across the state, administered by the Ohio History Connection, Ohio’s statewide history organization, including more than 50 literary themed markers on the trail.

The new additions to the Ohio Literary Trail include:

  • Northeast Ohio Region: Lorain County, Lorain Historical Society Carnegie Center, 329 W. 10th St. Toni Morrison Historical Marker. The trail’s newest site, dedicated August 12, 2021 and sponsored by Ohioana with the Lorain Historical Society, Ohio History Connection, Lorain YWCA, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, this marker honors Ohio’s most acclaimed author. Morrison, winner of many awards including the Nobel Prize, was born in Lorain in 1931 and died in August 2019. The Carnegie Center is the former Lorain Public Library where Morrison worked as a youth.
  • Northeast Ohio Region: Cuyahoga County, next to the Columbus Road Bridge or at the corner of Columbus Rd. and Merwin Ave. Hart Crane Memorial Park features a tribute sculpture by Ohio artist Gene Kangas honoring American poet Hart Crane (1899-1932), who is considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. The Park is stewarded by Canalway Partners.
  • Northeast Ohio Region: Trumbull County, Kinsman Square at 6086 Ohio 5 in Kinsman. Kinsman/Leigh Brackett Historical Marker. Born in California, Brackett moved to Kinsman with her husband and lived there about 20 years. The science fiction writer who perfected the subgenre of “space opera” in her writings was nominated for a Hugo Award for The Long Tomorrow (1955). As a screenwriter, she wrote the script for The Empire Strikes Back/Star Wars II.
  • Southwest Ohio Region: Montgomery County, University of Dayton campus, Zehler Dr. on the north side of St. Mary’s Hall. Erma Bombeck Historical Marker is on the campus where the celebrated columnist and author graduated in 1949. She went on to become a household name in the 1970s and ‘80s. For more information visit https://ermabombeckcollection.com/.
  • Southwest Ohio Region: Clermont County, Point Pleasant and Brown County, Georgetown.  Two-term 18th President of the United States and victorious military commander of the Union Army, Ulysses S. Grant, worked tirelessly to complete his autobiographical manuscript before his death. It became one of the most acclaimed memoirs of the 19th century, Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. Several Ohio sites offer a glimpse into his life: U.S. Grant Birthplace (1551 State Route 232 in Point Pleasant) and U.S. Grant’s Boyhood Home (219 E. Grant Ave. in Georgetown) and Schoolhouse (508 S. Water St. in Georgetown).
  • Southwest Ohio Region: Darke County, Garst Museum at 205 North Broadway in Greenville. Lowell Thomas’ 1880s restored Victorian Gothic style-home and the museum collection honor the TV and Cinerama producer and author of some 60 books, who flew around the world more than 30 times. His adventures­­ included traveling with T.E. Lawrence, which led to Thomas’ book Lawrence in Arabia, and the movie Lawrence of Arabia.
  • Southeast Ohio Region: Jefferson County, 407 S. 4th St., Steubenville. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) and the Carnegie Library of Steubenville Historical Marker in front of the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County honors Ohio’s first Carnegie Library, which was approved for funding in June 1899. 

The Ohio Literary Trail can be accessed at: http://www.ohioana.org/resources/the-ohio-literary-trail-2/

Click here for a downloadable PDF of the Ohio Literary Trail.

Announcing the 2021 Ohioana Book Award Winners
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Ohioana Book Awards

First given in 1942, the Ohioana Book Awards are the second oldest, and among the most prestigious, state literary prizes in the nation. Nearly every major writer from Ohio in the past 80 years has been honored, from James Thurber to Toni Morrison.

Six of the Ohioana Award winners, as well as the Marvin Grant recipient, were selected by juries. The Readers’ Choice Award was determined by voters in a public online poll. Nearly 4,000 votes were cast for this year’s Readers’ Choice Award.

Listed below are the 2021 Ohioana Book Award winners. Click on the title to learn more about the author and their winning book.

Fiction: Carter Sickels, The Prettiest Star

Nonfiction: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments

About Ohio or an Ohioan: Carole M. Genshaft, ed., Raggin’ On: The Art of Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson’s House and Journals

Poetry: Marianne Chan, All Heathens

Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature: Jacqueline Woodson, Before the Ever After

Juvenile Literature: Thrity Umrigar, Sugar in Milk

Readers’ Choice: Tiffany McDaniel, Betty


Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant

Named for Ohioana’s second director, the Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant is awarded to an Ohio writer age 30 or younger who has not yet published a book. The 2021 Marvin Grant winner is Hagan Faye Whiteleather.
A writer, editor, and professor based in Northeast Ohio, Hagan Faye studied English and Psychology at Kent State University and holds an MFA in Creative Writing & Environment with a Teaching Excellence degree distinction from Iowa State University. During her education she served as Editor-in-Chief of KSU’s literary arts journal, Luna Negra, and as Nonfiction Editor for ISU’s Flyway: Journal of Writing & Environment. Her in-progress memoir, Tangled in the Roots, explores the grounds and graves of Moultrie Chapel Cemetery, familial ties, parental loss, and the experience of providing end-of-life care. When she isn’t reading, writing, or out walking, she’s teaching creative and critical writing at her alma mater, Kent State. Her winning entry will appear in this fall’s Ohioana Quarterly.

Award Ceremony

The 2021 Ohioana Book Awards ceremony will be held on October 14 in the atrium of the Ohio Statehouse (tentatively in-person; please watch our website and social media for any possible changes). More information about the Awards and about purchasing tickets is coming soon. Congratulations to all of this year’s Ohioana Book Award winners!

A conversation with Sophia R. Klein
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A Conversation with Sophia R. Klein

Sophia R. Klein

Ohioana is excited to welcome author Sophia R. Klein as part of the Ohioana Book Festival this year. Sophia is our youngest-ever festival author, at just fourteen years old. She was motivated to write and illustrate her book, Turtle Tide, by her love of marine life. Her fascination with the sea began at the age of seven when she watched the Dolphin Tale films and learned the inspirational stories of the dolphins, Winter and Hope. She has since journeyed each summer to Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida to attend camps to learn about marine life and aspires to make working on the preservation of marine life part of her future.

Q: Sophia, there aren’t many people who can say they’ve written and illustrated their own book, especially at the young age of fourteen! How did the book come to be?

Sophia Klein: This originally started from my Gifted English class in 2020. We had a CCP assignment where we had two to three months to come up with a project that would have an end product. I wanted to incorporate my art into the project while still doing something I’ve never accomplished before. That’s when I decided to do a children’s book. I did ten illustrations within the hundred-page book and could have done more, but I was on a timeline. Plus, I love reading all genres of books and wanted to see what I could do when coming up with my own story.

Q: Turtle Tide is an inspirational story about a young sea turtle. How did you come up with the story?

SK: My little brother, who is now eight, was the main inspiration for my book. About seven years ago, my fascination with dolphins and other marine animals began, and after that, my brother fell in love with sea turtles. Green sea turtles were his favorite, ergo Tide the green sea turtle became the main character. Even one of the humans (or “no-fins” as Tide calls them) is named Caleb, after my brother. The book’s events, such as Tide’s rescue or the other turtles he meets later in the story, are based on real life turtles, dolphins, and other resident animals at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, a rescue facility near Tampa Florida, and home of the Dolphin Tale movies. They currently have eleven residential turtles and many of their life stories are incorporated into the character’s life story.

Q: Have you always been an illustrator? Tell us a little about your illustration process.

SK: As long as I could ever remember, I loved drawing and art in any form, my main focus in my own art being marine animals. My process for drawing any animal usually starts with studying an animal’s anatomy and skeletal structure to make any of the animal’s poses and proportions look natural and realistic. Then with Turtle Tide being a children’s book, I sometimes pushed proportions such as turtle shells and eyes to give the characters an animated look. I had limited time for the illustrations, so I would sketch the characters in pencil on paper then scan it into an art program to color in so it could look more professional.

Q: Your biography says you would like to continue to study marine life – do you intend to become a marine biologist? Do you think we will see more adventures of Tide and his friends someday?

SK: I am currently hoping to take on a career as a marine animal veterinarian. I felt that this book would help express my interests in marine biology, as everything (except for talking turtles) is based on fact. At the moment I have no plans for any sequel to Turtle Tide, but I am currently working on a new writing project. This does not mean it’s impossible for me to make a sequel in the future, but it is just not something I am working on at the moment.

Q: What would you say to other kids who might want to write a book someday?

SK: As one of the youngest authors to get to participate in the Ohioana Book Festival, I hope for that to be an inspiration for any young artists and writers that they can express their ideas and stories as well.

Thank you to Sophia R. Klein for this interview. You can buy Sophia’s book, Turtle Tide, at www.bookloft.com . Check out our “Author Content” page for more about Sophia (page coming April 22 at 7pm), and enjoy the rest of the 2021 Ohioana Book Festival, this weekend, April 22 – April 25.

Turtle Tide by Sophia R. Klein

Toni Morrison and The Bluest Eye – 50 Years Later
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The original dust jacket for the hard cover first edition of The Bluest Eye, with photo of Toni Morrison by Bert Andrews.

The passing of Toni Morrison in August 2019 at the age of 88 opened a floodgate of tributes from around the world. The native of Lorain, Ohio, had climbed heights no other American writer of the past half-century had achieved, winning every major award from the Pulitzer Prize to the Presidential Medal of Freedom and, in 1993, the Nobel Prize for Literature.

This month marks a milestone in Morrison’s life and career. It was 50 years ago, in November 1970, when her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was published by Holt, Rinehart & Winston. At the time, Morrison was working as a textbook editor for L.W. Singer. Because she was a relatively unknown writer, the initial print run in hardcover was only 2,000 copies. But it brought her acclaim, which would continue to grow with her second novel, Sula (for which Morrison won her first literary prize – the Ohioana Book Award in fiction), and her third, Song of Solomon, which solidified her position as one of America’s greatest writers.

With controversial themes that include incest and rape, The Bluest Eye has often been challenged as high school reading material and has appeared several times among the list of titles most frequently banned. But in the 50 years since its publication, it has become a classic.

For those not familiar with the novel, Chiquita Mullins-Lee, herself an award-winning poet and playwright, as well as the Arts Learning Coordinator for the Ohio Arts Council, offers this summary:

“The Bluest Eye presents a treatise on slavery’s legacy of self-loathing and self-rejection. Toni Morrison channels the generational trauma of a little black girl who internalizes societal norms that devalue her looks, culture, and very existence. In Pecola Breedlove’s world, Black value and Black beauty are non-entities. From a deeply broken spirit, Pecola identifies the prize: blues eyes promise entry into a place that privileges white skin and tolerates the physical features of a “high yellow dream child.” In possession of neither blue eyes nor light skin, Pecola languishes in a world that fails to affirm her. That same destruction of the spirit is revealed in the pathology of her father, Cholly Breedlove, who exemplifies one who has received and transmitted a lethal legacy that fractured families. Ironically, the acquisition of blue eyes could be only a superficial, as well as impossible, fix. Toni Morrison assigns Black folks the responsibility to cherish our children, love ourselves, and heal our spirits and community.”

In 1988, the year Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize for her most acclaimed novel, Beloved, and also received the Ohioana Career Medal, she did an interview with Thames Television on the subject “Why I Wrote The Bluest Eye,” which you can watch on YouTube:

One of the fascinating aspects of Morrison’s writing was her meticulous care and attention to detail. In an article for The Paris Review, she wrote:

We began to talk about little rituals that one goes through before beginning to write. I, at first, thought I didn’t have a ritual, but then I remembered that I always get up and make a cup of coffee while it is still dark—it must be dark—and then I drink the coffee and watch the light come. And she said, Well, that’s a ritual. And I realized that for me this ritual comprises my preparation to enter a space that I can only call nonsecular . . . Writers all devise ways to approach that place where they expect to make the contact, where they become the conduit, or where they engage in this mysterious process. For me, light is the signal in the transition. It’s not being in the light, it’s being there before it arrives. It enables me, in some sense. 

Ohioana board member Dionne Custer Edwards, who is also a poet and Director of Learning and Public Practice at the Wexner Center for the Arts, spoke on the impact Morrison’s words had on her:

“As a mother of three, I too often think about rituals of making inside of the demands of work and life. About how to shape lines, images, narratives, and texture—especially in these days—in the midst of a societal crisis, or two or three. I think about pursuing language in an enduring moment where living is a pattern of abundant isolation from breath, sound, movement, people. I think about life as it once was and grieve it with dignity and a few fresh notes of comfort when I am reminded by the sky that I am still breathing even as I consider the enduring length of suffering. I think about time. About how I have often captured the practice of writing in the draft along the wood floors between deep quiet in the house and the folds of sunrise.  

I remember meeting Toni Morrison while I was an undergraduate student at Ohio State University. I will never forget how she stayed with a small group of us after her public talk. How she advised, encouraged, held us in a moment of wisdom, comfort, and candor. How she shared ideas about writing and how to make use of hours and space. Back then, I was an English major trying to figure out what to do with my words. So grateful to have lived during a time when Toni Morrison wrote about the complexities of Black lives as real and imagined experiences in literature. ”

The complexities of Black lives as real and imagined experiences in literature that began 50 years ago with The Bluest Eye.

With special thanks to Chiquita Mullins Lee and Dionne Custer Edwards.

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