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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Photo of Holly Brians Ragusa

Holly Brians Ragusa

Holly Brians Ragusa (she/her/hers) is an interdisciplinary writer, poet, speaker, community activist and author of MET THE END (Nov 2022) named CITYBEAT STAFF PICK BEST TRUE-CRIME MEMOIR THAT CUTS AWAY SENSATIONALISM 2023. Other books include DYING TO KNOW MYSELF IN TIME and INVERSE; INFORMED THOUGHTS BY AN UNFIT POET. Contributor to Psychology Today and Opinion contributor to The Cincinnati Enquirer, HBR serves a range of nonprofits, hosts writing workshops and lives in historic Over-the-Rhine, sharing space with her husband, mother, three cats, one dog, and (sometimes) two grown children.…

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Holly Brians Ragusa (she/her/hers) is an interdisciplinary writer, poet, speaker, community activist and author of MET THE END (Nov 2022) named CITYBEAT STAFF PICK BEST TRUE-CRIME MEMOIR THAT CUTS AWAY SENSATIONALISM 2023. Other books include DYING TO KNOW MYSELF IN TIME and INVERSE; INFORMED THOUGHTS BY AN UNFIT POET. Contributor to Psychology Today and Opinion contributor to The Cincinnati Enquirer, HBR serves a range of nonprofits, hosts writing workshops and lives in historic Over-the-Rhine, sharing space with her husband, mother, three cats, one dog, and (sometimes) two grown children. Learn more at Hollybriansragusa.com

Photo of Merrill Rainey

Merrill Rainey

Growing up, Merrill Rainey spent most of his Saturday afternoons drawing, watching monster movies, and going on imaginary adventures. Today, he is a cowboy-boot-wearing, picture-book-creator and paper-toy-maker. Merrill’s work focuses on exploring creativity and imaginative play. His current titles include Giants Are Very Brave People (2023 Cybils Awards nominee) written by Florence Parry Heide, Roar!…Read More

Growing up, Merrill Rainey spent most of his Saturday afternoons drawing, watching monster movies, and going on imaginary adventures. Today, he is a cowboy-boot-wearing, picture-book-creator and paper-toy-maker. Merrill’s work focuses on exploring creativity and imaginative play. His current titles include Giants Are Very Brave People (2023 Cybils Awards nominee) written by Florence Parry Heide, Roar! I’m a Dinosaur (winner of the Good Housekeeping Best Kids’ Board Book of 2022), Oink! I’m a Pig, and the Color, Cut, Create series. His newest title My First Town: A Building Block Book, is a modern take on the classic children’s building block toys. Young builders are able to punch, build, and stack a 3D city of their own. My First Town empowers children to know that if they can fold a sheet of paper four times to create a block and add a little bit of creativity and ingenuity, then they can build anything! Merrill also works for many children’s magazines like Highlights, Ranger Rick, and Humpty Dumpty. You can see more of his work at littlerainey.com or follow him on Instagram @littlerainey

Ted Rall

An award-winning cartoonist, graphic novelist, and essayist, Ted Rall was born in Massachusetts and grew up in Kettering, Ohio. Rall has been a political cartoonist and op-ed columnist for United Press Syndicate since 1996, his work appearing in more than 100 newspapers around the country, including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Village Voice.…Read More

An award-winning cartoonist, graphic novelist, and essayist, Ted Rall was born in Massachusetts and grew up in Kettering, Ohio. Rall has been a political cartoonist and op-ed columnist for United Press Syndicate since 1996, his work appearing in more than 100 newspapers around the country, including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and the Village Voice. He serves as President of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists. Rall has twice won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and in 1996 was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in editorial cartooning. Visit his website: http://rall.com/.

Photo of Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

Cuban-born Raul Ramos y Sanchez grew up in Miami’s cultural kaleidoscope before becoming a long-time resident of the U.S. Midwest. After a successful career in advertising that included founding an ad agency with offices in Ohio and California, Ramos turned to more personally significant work. Works of fiction by Raul include the Class H Trilogy (America Libre, House Divided, and Pancho Land), the coming of age novel, The Skinny Years, and Mustang To Paducah.…Read More

Cuban-born Raul Ramos y Sanchez grew up in Miami’s cultural kaleidoscope before becoming a long-time resident of the U.S. Midwest. After a successful career in advertising that included founding an ad agency with offices in Ohio and California, Ramos turned to more personally significant work. Works of fiction by Raul include the Class H Trilogy (America Libre, House Divided, and Pancho Land), the coming of age novel, The Skinny Years, and Mustang To Paducah. The author and his work have been featured on television, radio and print publications across the country along with a host of online media sources. Visit Raul on his website, http://www.raulramos.com/.

Photo of Matt Rapposelli

Matt Rapposelli

Matt Rapposelli has been a leader in southeast Ohio’s dining scene since 1982 and is known for developing destination dining experiences, including the award-winning Big Chimney Baking Co. and the Lake Hope Lodge. He is the executive chef of Kindred Spirits, the restaurant for the Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls in Logan, Ohio.Read More

Matt Rapposelli has been a leader in southeast Ohio’s dining scene since 1982 and is known for developing destination dining experiences, including the award-winning Big Chimney Baking Co. and the Lake Hope Lodge. He is the executive chef of Kindred Spirits, the restaurant for the Inn & Spa at Cedar Falls in Logan, Ohio.

Photo of J. L. Raynor

J. L. Raynor

Jason is originally from Brooklyn, NY. He is an author, actor and speaker. He is also a proud graduate of Bowling Green State University. One of his favorite topics to teach is Trauma Informed Approaches. His goal is to eliminate victim blaming, and to teach others how to identify signs of trauma in others.Read More

Jason is originally from Brooklyn, NY. He is an author, actor and speaker. He is also a proud graduate of Bowling Green State University. One of his favorite topics to teach is Trauma Informed Approaches. His goal is to eliminate victim blaming, and to teach others how to identify signs of trauma in others.

Photo of Mark Rea

Mark Rea

For more than 30 years, Mark Rea has been a writer, journalist, editor and columnist at newspapers and magazines for such companies as Scripps-Howard and McGraw-Hill. Throughout the course of his career, Rea has won several writing awards, including several national first-place honors from McGraw-Hill in 2002 and 2003, and an honorable mention in 2004 from the Football Writers Association of America.…Read More

For more than 30 years, Mark Rea has been a writer, journalist, editor and columnist at newspapers and magazines for such companies as Scripps-Howard and McGraw-Hill. Throughout the course of his career, Rea has won several writing awards, including several national first-place honors from McGraw-Hill in 2002 and 2003, and an honorable mention in 2004 from the Football Writers Association of America. In 2009, he authored the book The Die-Hard Fan’s Guide To Buckeye Football.

Rea is the managing editor emeritus of Columbus Sports Publications, a Columbus, Ohio-based firm that publishes sports-related fan newspapers including Buckeye Sports Bulletin and manages the Internet website BuckeyeSports.com. Rea and his wife, Lisa, reside in Washington Court House and have a daughter Jessica, who is currently a graduate student working on her Ph.D. in psychology at Ohio State.

Photo of Kerry Rea

Kerry Rea

Kerry Rea lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband and their small army of dogs. She grew up in Youngstown, Ohio and graduated from The University of Notre Dame. She believes that happily ever after is always possible. Learn more at her website: https://www.authorkerryrea.com/Read More

Kerry Rea lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband and their small army of dogs. She grew up in Youngstown, Ohio and graduated from The University of Notre Dame. She believes that happily ever after is always possible. Learn more at her website: https://www.authorkerryrea.com/

Photo of Mary Reed

Mary Reed

Mary Reed is a freelance writer and photographer based in Athens, Ohio. She is the author of Hocking Hills Day Hikes, Hiking Waterfalls Ohio, Hiking Ohio, Hiking West Virginia, and more. Learn more at maryreed.biz or follow her on Instagram @maryreedhikesRead More

Mary Reed is a freelance writer and photographer based in Athens, Ohio. She is the author of Hocking Hills Day Hikes, Hiking Waterfalls Ohio, Hiking Ohio, Hiking West Virginia, and more. Learn more at maryreed.biz or follow her on Instagram @maryreedhikes

Photo of Phoebe Reeves

Phoebe Reeves

Phoebe Reeves earned her MFA in poetry at Sarah Lawrence College and now is Professor of English at the University of Cincinnati. She has three chapbooks of poetry, most recently The Flame of Her Will (Milk & Cake), and her first full length collection, Helen of Bikini (Lily Poetry Review) was published in March, 2023. Her poems have appeared in The Gettysburg Review, Best New Poets, Grist, Forklift OH, and The Chattahoochee Review, and she has been awarded fellowships by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Vermont Studio Center.…Read More

Phoebe Reeves earned her MFA in poetry at Sarah Lawrence College and now is Professor of English at the University of Cincinnati. She has three chapbooks of poetry, most recently The Flame of Her Will (Milk & Cake), and her first full length collection, Helen of Bikini (Lily Poetry Review) was published in March, 2023. Her poems have appeared in The Gettysburg Review, Best New Poets, Grist, Forklift OH, and The Chattahoochee Review, and she has been awarded fellowships by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Vermont Studio Center. She lives in Cincinnati, OH with her husband Don Peteroy, amidst her unruly urban garden. Learn more: phoebereeves.com

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