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.
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Namara L. Dafney
Namara L. Dafney is a professional Executive Business Coach who works with non-profits and the private sector to promote organizational transformation. She is the author of Habits From The Inside Out: A Holistic Perspective.
In her book, Namara uses insights from St. Augustine, Aristotle, and other sage scholars, along with the Bible’s timeless wisdom, and coaching to create a uniquely novel and relevant voice on habits. The book speaks about how to create good habits and change or let go of unhealthy ones.
With a Masters of Arts in Professional Practice in Coaching from Middlesex University in London, England, Namara authored her thesis on: The Impact of Coaching on Habit Development for Sustained Change. She has also written business blogs and delivers impactful presentations about habits for business, community, and educational settings. Namara is also a contributing writer to Leadership Narratives: Reflective Journeys of Sales Professionals (Routledge, publication date January 2024).
Namara L. Dafney is a lifelong learner and on any given day, she can be found reading an enjoyable book, autobiography is one of her favorites. Along with reading, she loves spending time with family and friends, scrapbooking, and challenging herself with new skills such as juggling.
James Dailey , II
A native of Wapakoneta, Ohio, James Dailey II graduated from the School of Advertising Art in Dayton, Ohio. He is curator of the Dailey Archives, an important assembly of artifacts, early photography, and ephemera. It also comprises the largest privately held collection of Ohio prison memorabilia. Inside the Ohio Penitentiary is his debut work as an author.
Signe Damron
Signe Damron is a poet, short story writer, publisher, speaker, and coach based in Columbus, Ohio. Her commitment to storytelling inspired her to establish her own publishing company, Signe-ture Publishing, where she released her debut book, “French Door to Foyer.” In recognition of her work, she was awarded the GCAC Artist Grant in June 2024.
In addition to her literary expertise, Signe has spent 20 years working in various business sectors, with a particular focus on the real estate industry. Throughout her career, she has successfully navigated the complexities of the business world, leveraging her skills to foster growth and innovation.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Signe is deeply committed to community service. For 19 years, she has dedicated her time as a coach and fundraiser for the Columbus Schools Special Olympics. Through her volunteer work, she has played a vital role in empowering athletes, fostering inclusivity, and supporting essential programs that make a difference in the lives of many. Signe’s diverse experiences in both business and volunteer work have allowed her to cultivate meaningful connections and build a strong network of relationships. She continues to use her skills and expertise to inspire others, whether through the written word, business leadership.
Check out her website: https://www.signe-ture.com/
Casey Daniels
Casey Daniels once applied for a job as a tour guide in a Cleveland cemetery. She didn’t get the job, but she did get the idea for the heroine in her popular Pepper Martin mystery series. Pepper works at a historic cemetery and solves mysteries for the ghosts there. In addition, Casey has a new series, the Button Box mysteries, written as Kylie Logan.…
Read MoreCasey Daniels once applied for a job as a tour guide in a Cleveland cemetery. She didn’t get the job, but she did get the idea for the heroine in her popular Pepper Martin mystery series. Pepper works at a historic cemetery and solves mysteries for the ghosts there. In addition, Casey has a new series, the Button Box mysteries, written as Kylie Logan. Casey has also written both historical and contemporary romances as well as books for young adults and one children’s book. She lives in the Cleveland area and teaches fiction writing classes at the Brecksville Center for the Arts. She is a frequent presenter at workshops nationwide.
Mark Darden
Mark Darden, aka Madison Square Darden, is originally from Cleveland, Ohio and is a 2012 graduate of The Ohio State University. Now residing in Columbus, Ohio, Mark is a sports and travel enthusiast who has attended many sports events and has visited cities across the world. His favorite teams are the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Some of his favorite places to visit are Washington, D.C., Chicago, Toronto, and Los Angeles. You can follow Mark on his blog, buckeyemuscle.com, as well as on social media @buckeyemuscle.
Karin Cecile Davidson
Karin Cecile Davidson is the author of the novel Sybelia Drive (Braddock Avenue Books, 2020). Her story collection The Geography of First Kisses was awarded the 2022 Acacia Fiction Prize and is forthcoming from Kallisto Gaia Press in 2023. Her stories have appeared in Five Points, Story, The Massachusetts Review, Colorado Review, Passages North, Post Road, The Los Angeles Review, and elsewhere. Her awards include an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, the Waasmode Short Fiction Prize, the Orlando Prize for Short Fiction, a Peter Taylor Fellowship, and residencies at the Fine Arts Work Center, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and The Studios of Key West. Originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, she now lives in Columbus, Ohio. https://www.karinceciledavidson.com/
Kathleen Davies
Kathleen Davies earned her Ph.D. from Indiana University and taught English and Women’s & Gender Studies for many years before retiring to write full time. In addition to her memoir, Sacred Groves, she has published shorter creative nonfiction in literary journals such as Imitation Fruit, Ray’s Road Review, and South Loop Review.…
Read MoreKathleen Davies earned her Ph.D. from Indiana University and taught English and Women’s & Gender Studies for many years before retiring to write full time. In addition to her memoir, Sacred Groves, she has published shorter creative nonfiction in literary journals such as Imitation Fruit, Ray’s Road Review, and South Loop Review. Kathleen is also an award-winning visual artist, who has exhibited her photography and mixed media locally. For the Sacred Groves project, she traveled to over fifty cemeteries all over Ohio and beyond taking thousands of photographs, some of which are included in the book. Originally from Gallipolis, she now lives in Columbus with her husband, Lynn Slimmer, also an artist and a musician.
Visit Kathleen at https://www.kathleendaviesauthors.com
Robin Davis
Robin Davis is from Dublin, Ohio. She is a senior writer and editor at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Prior to joining the staff at Kenyon, she was the food editor at the Columbus Dispatch for 11 years and hosted Dispatch Kitchen cooking segments and specials on the local CBS affiliate, WBNS-TV. Before coming to Columbus, Robin was a restaurant critic and food writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Robin has a bachelor of arts in English and psychology from the University of Dayton and an associate’s degree in culinary arts from the California Culinary Academy. Visit her online at http://foodcookeat.com/.
Teri Ellen Cross Davis
Teri Ellen Cross Davis is the author of Haint, published by Gival Press. She is a Cave Canem fellow and has attended the Soul Mountain Writer’s Retreat, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. She is on the Advisory Committee for the biennial Split This Rock Festival and is a semi-finalist judge for the NEA’s Poetry Out Loud. She is part of the Black Ladies Brunch Collective. Her work can be read in many anthologies including Bum Rush The Page: A Def Poetry Jam, Gathering Ground: A Reader Celebrating Cave Canem’s First Decade, Full Moon on K Street: Poems About Washington, DC; The Golden Shovel Anthology: New Poems Honoring Gwendolyn Brooks and Not Without Our Laughter: poems of joy, humor, and sexuality and the following journals Poet Lore, The North American Review, Gargoyle, Natural Bridge, Torch, Fledgling Rag, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Delaware Poetry Review, Harvard Review, Tin House and Auburn Avenue. She coordinates the O.B. Hardison Poetry Series at the Folger Shakespeare Library and lives in Silver Spring, MD, with her husband poet Hayes Davis and their two children. Their website is http://www.poetsandparents.com.
Mark Dawidziak
Mark Dawidziak is the author or editor of 25 books, including three studies of landmark television series: “The Columbo Phile: A Casebook,” “The Night Stalker Companion” and “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the The Twilight Zone,” his lighthearted 2017 tribute to Rod Serling’s classic anthology series. He also is an internationally recognized Mark Twain scholar, and five of his books are about the iconic American writer. He has been portraying Twain on stage for more than 45 years. No less an authority than Ken Burns has said, “Nobody gets Mark Twain the way Mark Dawidziak does.” His most recent book is the Edgar, Agatha and Anthony-nominated biography “A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe.” Born in New York, Dawidziak spent 43 years as a television, film and theater critic at such newspapers as the Akron Beacon Journal and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. In 2015, he was inducted into the Press Club of Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame. He also is the author of the 1994 horror novel “Grave Secrets,” as well as such non-fiction books as “The Barter Theatre Story: Love Made Visible,” “The Bedside, Bathtub and Armchair Companion to Dracula” and “The Shawshank Redemption Revealed: How One Story Keeps Hope Alive,” a 2019 deep-dive look at the beloved film based on a novella by Stephen King. He also is the editor of three volumes of works by celebrated “Twilight Zone” contributor Richard Matheson, who mentioned Dawidziak in the dedications to two of his books.
His work on the spooky side of the street also includes short stories, novellas, and comic book scripts. Dawidziak and Paul J. Bauer are the authors of the first full-length biography of “hobo author” Jim Tully, a forgotten writer hailed as “America’s Gorky” and as a literary superstar in the 1920s and ’30s. Titled “Jim Tully: American Writer, Irish Rover, Hollywood Brawler,” it was published in hardcover by Kent State University Press in 2011 with a foreword by Ken Burns (recently issued in paperback by Commonwealth Book Company). A former vagabond and boxer, Tully wrote about the American underclass and was credited with founding the hard-boiled school of writing. Bauer and Dawidziak also edited and wrote the introductions for Kent State University Press reprints of four of Tully’s books: “Beggars of Life,” “Circus Parade,” “Shanty Irish” and “The Bruiser.” Two more reprints, “Shadows of Men” and “Blood on the Moon,” were published by Commonwealth Book Company in 2023. In 2002, Dawidziak and his wife, actress Sara Showman, founded the Largely Literary Theater Company, dedicated to promoting literature, literacy and live theater. Their repertoire includes works by Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe. https://www.markdawidziak.com/