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.
- You are searching within category(ies): Illustrator
Ian Adams
Ian Adams is a landscape photographer, writer and educator specializing in Ohio’s natural, rural, historical and garden areas. Twenty-one books of his color photography have been published, including his most recent, A Photographer’s Guide to Ohio – Volume 2, which was released by Ohio University Press in April, 2015 and a centennial edition of Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, published by the University of Akron Press in May, 2015. Ian has produced more than 60 Ohio calendars and conducted over 200 seminars and workshops in nature, garden, and digital photography throughout North America. He is an adjunct lecturer at Ohio State University’s Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster, Ohio where he teaches digital photography. Ian shares a home in Cuyahoga Falls with two cats, Fuji and Spicer, and an assortment of cameras. Find him online at http://ianadamsphotography.com.
Jashar Awan
Growing up outside of Washington, DC, Jashar Awan loved drawing and reading. In fact, he still does. Jashar debuted as an author-illustrator in 2020 and has published picture books with Norton, Simon & Schuster, and Tundra Books. His works have been recognized with an ALA Notable and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections and have been included on Choose to Read Ohio’s Booklist and Bank Street College’s Best Books of the Year. They have also received numerous starred reviews from Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Journal. A longtime New Yorker, Jashar moved to Ohio in 2017 with his wife and son, who love drawing and reading, too. Learn more at http://jasharawan.com/
Chuck Ayers
Chuck Ayers is a graduate of Kent State University and is from Summit Co., Ohio. Following graduation, he became the editorial cartoonist for the Akron Beacon Journal. He’s been the artist on Crankshaft since its inception and is a huge fan of the Cleveland Indians and the Akron RubberDucks. Ayers has been a cartoonist most of his professional life and was a longtime political cartoonist for the Akron Beacon Journal. Ayers and his wife, Lisa, have two grown children.
Tom Batiuk
In Tom’s own words: “Okay, here we go, gang, biography lite. I was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1947. After graduating from Kent State University in 1969 with a BFA and a certificate in education, I taught art in Elyria, Ohio at Eastern Heights Jr. High. In 1970, while I was teaching, I began drawing a panel for the teen page of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Those strips led to the creation of Funky Winkerbean in 1972. Funky is syndicated by King Features Syndicate to more than 400 newspapers nationwide. I skipped over a lot of hard work in the middle there, but that’s basically the gist of it for those of you doing term papers. In 1979. I launched John Darling into syndication working with Tom Armstrong, Gerry Shamray, and Bob Vojtko, in that order. Great artists all. John Darling was a talk show host who first saw the light of day in Funky, and who was quite literally killed off when his strip ended. Another character from Funky, Ed Crankshaft, soloed in his own strip in 1987, on which I work with the inimitable and talented Dan Davis.”
Tadgh Bentley
Tadgh Bentley is a painter, picture book author and illustrator. He is originally from the UK and now lives in Athens, Ohio with his wife, Emily; son, Fionn; and four-legged friend Atticus.
His publishing career began with the release of ‘Little Penguin gets the Hiccups’ in 2015, a story that was written shortly after Tadgh’s move to the US.…
Read MoreTadgh Bentley is a painter, picture book author and illustrator. He is originally from the UK and now lives in Athens, Ohio with his wife, Emily; son, Fionn; and four-legged friend Atticus.
His publishing career began with the release of ‘Little Penguin gets the Hiccups’ in 2015, a story that was written shortly after Tadgh’s move to the US. Tadgh juggled writing and illustrating with a full- and then part-time teaching career, but after fifteen years as an elementary school teacher, he left the profession to pursue creative endeavors full-time.
Tadgh retains a love of education and a passion for the written word. He is eager to share his enthusiasm and to de-mystify the creative process- in particular encouraging young people to see ‘mistakes’ as a valuable part of learning.
Learn more at https://tadghbentley.com/
Keturah Bobo
Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio with family roots in Detroit, MI, Keturah was home-schooled from an early age by her mother who encouraged her passion for art at the early age of two. She decided to become a full-time artist after graduating from Columbus College of Art and Design in 2006. Keturah has always been inspired by her community and especially the beauty of natural hair. Her work uplifts and shines light on those who are far too often underrepresented. Learn more at her website: https://www.keturahariel.com
Tim Bowers
Tim Bowers fueled his childhood imagination with comic book superheroes, television comedies and his grandparents’ many animals, including dogs, cats, chickens, a talking parrot, a house pig and a squirrel monkey, named Joe. It’s no surprise that Tim’s career in illustration would be filled with humorous stories and animal characters. Bowers has illustrated over fifty children’s books, including collaborations with Olympian Kristy Yamaguchi (Dream Big, Little Pig!) and singer/songwriter Kenny Loggins (Footloose). Several of Bowers’ books have been New York Times Bestsellers and he has received numerous state book awards, including the prestigious Texas Bluebonnet Award, for the book Memoirs of a Tortoise. When he isn’t creating art for a children’s book, he is probably strumming his ukulele and writing songs… filled with humor and animal characters. Tim and his family live in Ohio. To find out more about Tim and his art, visit http://www.timbowers.com.
Erin Alon Brain
Bill Cotter
Bill was cooked slowly and evenly in the warm embrace of midwest suburbia. After studying art in Baltimore, he then moved to New York City where he found work as a pre-K art and music teacher. In between fingerpainting and singing songs he wrote and illustrated is debut book “Don’t Push the Button!” which has gone on to be a USA Today bestseller. Bill has since moved back to his hometown of Cleveland and spends his days drawing, playing music, and daydreaming.