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): Juvenile
Hanif Abdurraqib
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His poetry has been published in Muzzle, Vinyl, PEN American, and various other journals. His essays and music criticism have been published in The FADER, Pitchfork, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. His first full length poetry collection, The Crown Ain’t Worth Much, was released in June 2016 from Button Poetry. It was named a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Prize, and was nominated for a Hurston-Wright Legacy Award. With Big Lucks, he released a limited edition chapbook, Vintage Sadness, in summer 2017 (you cannot get it anymore and he is very sorry.) His first collection of essays, They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, was released in winter 2017 by Two Dollar Radio and was named a book of the year by Buzzfeed, Esquire, NPR, Oprah Magazine, Paste, CBC, The Los Angeles Review, Pitchfork, and The Chicago Tribune, among others. He released Go Ahead In The Rain: Notes To A Tribe Called Quest with University of Texas press in February 2019. The book became a New York Times Bestseller, was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize, and was longlisted for the National Book Award. His second collection of poems, A Fortune For Your Disaster, was released in 2019 by Tin House, and won the 2020 Lenore Marshall Prize. In 2021, he released the book A Little Devil In America with Random House, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the The PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. The book won the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and the Gordon Burn Prize. Hanif is a graduate of Beechcroft High School. Check out his website: http://www.abdurraqib.com/
Frederick Luis Aldama
Frederick Luis Aldama, aka Professor Latinx, is an award-winning author, co-author, editor, and coeditor of over 48 books. He is author of several children’s books, including The Adventures of Chupacabra Charlie (published in English and Spanish) and Con Papá / With Papá as well as co-creator of the animation short, Carlitos Chupacabra, currently on a world film festival tour. In 2022 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters and the Ohio State University’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion Hall of Fame.
Lisa Amstutz
Lisa Amstutz is the author of more than 150 books for children. She holds degrees in Biology and Environmental Science. A former outdoor educator, she specializes in topics related to nature, sustainability, and agriculture. Lisa lives with her family on a small farm in Ohio. https://www.lisaamstutz.com
Michael Armstrong
After beginning his career as a marketing professional, Michael Armstrong changed course and joined the nonprofit world. He served as the Executive Director of The ALS Association, The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, and other nonprofit organizations.
When his daughter was born, Mike left his job to become a stay-at-home dad. Soon after, he began writing children’s books (and rekindled his love affair with Play-Doh). Today he is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and is represented by Curtis Brown, Ltd. His first book, Best Day Ever, will be released by Sterling Publishing in Spring 2020. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
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/
Isaiah Bealer
Isaiah Bealer is a Cincinnati, OH native. He is an versatile author, whose writing style specializes on catching the undivided attention of his readers. Harnessing the most out of his character’s traits, Isaiah is able to create an array of intriguing plots to manifest immaculate stories. Isaiah’s first published book is a fiction novel by the title of “Forever My Brother.” Although, he switches genres, his second published work titled, “The King In Me” is just as entertaining as his first. Isaiah’s overall objective through his writing is to inspire people around the world to reach the zenith of their full potential.
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/
Connie Bergstein Dow
Connie Bergstein Dow began dancing when she was four, and has been dancing ever since. After attending Denison University, and earning an MFA from the University of Michigan, she danced professionally in the US, Venezuela, and Guatemala. During her career as a dance educator, she has taught dance to three-year-olds, to senior adults in wheelchairs, and every age in between. In addition to her picture book From A to Z with Energy! (Free Spirit Publishing, 2019), she has written two books for teachers published by Redleaf Press: Dance, Turn, Hop, Learn! Enriching Movement Activities for Preschoolers, and One, Two, What Can I Do? Dance and Music for the Whole Day. She also writes articles for magazines and journals, and verses for Highlights magazines.
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