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): 2017
Linda Stanek
Linda Stanek has a passion for teaching, animals, and conservation. Her book, Cheetah Dreams (Arbordale Publishing), released in fall of 2018. Other books include award-winning Once Upon an Elephant (Arbordale Publishing) Night Creepers (Arbordale Publishing), Beco’s Big Year: A Baby Elephant Turns One, (Columbus Zoo and Aquarium), and more. She is the author of Sheeba and the Private Detectives (AZ Corp, 2018) a leveled comic book series that teaches STEM concepts to children in Pakistan. She is a co-author of college textbook Cheetahs: Biodiversity of the World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes (Academic Press, 2017). In addition to winning the Children’s Choice Book Award’s 3rd-4th grade Book of the Year, Linda’s books have been nominated for a number of other awards, and have been placed on state reading lists. Her book Once Upon an Elephant is a 2019-2020 Choose to Read Ohio title. She is a frequent visitor in schools, and has spoken at zoos and at conferences for museum personnel, librarians, teachers, and writers. In 2019, Linda will work with the Columbus Zoo and The Ohio State University on a scientific study to measure the impact of authors, literature, and ambassador cheetahs in schools.
Aileen Stewart
Aileen Stewart is the award winning author of the Fern Valley Series which includes Fern Valley, Return to Fern Valley, and Cooking in Fern Valley, as well as the new Quack and Daisy Picture Book Series, a public speaker, amateur photographer, a blogger, and SCBWI member. In addition, she hosts writing workshops for children in first to sixth grade, offers library and school visits, and speaks at events. She resides in lovely Shelby, Ohio with her beautiful daughter, wonderful husband, and their crazy cats Max, Daisy, and Fluffy. Her motto is “Kids Who Read Can Do Anything!”
Charlotte Stiverson
Charlotte L. Stiverson has been teaching for more than 35 years, working primarily with elementary school students in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Stiverson recognized the need to explain chemotherapy in a sensitive, easy to understand way for young children, which was her purpose behind writing Nellie’s Walk.
Her other works include various articles for educational magazines, along with a number of book reviews published for the Ohioana Library. Recently, Stiverson worked closely with students and Ohio legislators to pass a bill, officially making the Adena Pipe Ohio’s State artifact. She’s also active at the Highlands Nature Sanctuary in Bainbridge, Ohio working to create, coordinate, and implement the annual artist in residence program that provides inspiration and immerses local Ohio artists in the scenic landscape of the area. In her free time, Stiverson enjoys arts and crafts like knitting and sewing, hiking the many trails in her area, reading and writing, and doing volunteer work within her local community.
Jessica Strawser
Jessica Strawser is the author of six book club favorite novels: Almost Missed You, Not That I Could Tell (a Book of the Month selection), Forget You Know Me, A Million Reasons Why, The Next Thing You Know (a People Magazine Pick, now new in paperback), and her latest, The Last Caretaker. She is editor-at-large at Writer’s Digest, where she curates the Learn by Example column; a popular speaker at writing conferences; and a freelance editor and writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times Modern Love, Publishers Weekly, and others. A graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, she lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she served as 2019 writer-in-residence for the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library. For more information, visit http://www.jessicastrawser.com.
Jeff Suess
Jeff Suess is the author of Lost Cincinnati and Hidden History of Cincinnati (The History Press) and the librarian of the Cincinnati Enquirer, where he keeps the newspaper archive and writes about Cincinnati history. He regularly does presentations on local history and leads discussions on graphic novels at the Mercantile Library and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Jeff also writes fiction and has had stories published by Pocket Books, Post Mortem Press and DC Comics.
Jeff grew up in Modesto, California, and graduated from San Francisco State University. He lives in White Oak on Cincinnati’s West Side with his wife, Kristin, and their daughter, Dashiell.
Joe Sutphin
Joe Sutphin is an illustrator and cartoonist of books for young readers. His work includes the Eisner Award winning Watership Down: The Graphic Novel, based on the beloved book by Richard Adams, as well as the re-envisioned, illustrated classics Little Pilgrim’s Progress and Little Christmas Carol. Joe lives in Central Ohio with his wife Gina and five amazing cats.…
Read MoreJoe Sutphin is an illustrator and cartoonist of books for young readers. His work includes the Eisner Award winning Watership Down: The Graphic Novel, based on the beloved book by Richard Adams, as well as the re-envisioned, illustrated classics Little Pilgrim’s Progress and Little Christmas Carol. Joe lives in Central Ohio with his wife Gina and five amazing cats. Learn more at joesutphin.com
Cindy Thomson
Known for the inspirational Celtic theme employed in most of her books, Cindy Thomson is the author of six novels and three non-fiction books, including her newest Celtic Son. A genealogy enthusiast, she writes from her home in Ohio where she lives with her husband Tom near their three grown sons and their families. Visit her online at http://www.cindyswriting.com
Tara Tyler
Tara Tyler has had a hand in everything from waitressing to rocket engineering. After moving all over the US, she now writes and teaches math in Ohio with her husband and one boy left in the nest. She has two novel series, Pop Travel (sci-fi detective thrillers) and Beast World (fantasy adventures), plus her UnPrincess novella series where the damsels save themselves. She’s a commended blogger, contributed to several anthologies, and to fit all these projects in, she economizes her time, aka the Lazy Housewife—someday she might write a book on that… Make every day an adventure!
Carmella Van Vleet
Carmella Van Vleet is a former teacher who has been a full-time author for over 20 years. She’s the author of over a dozen books, both fiction and non-fiction, for kids of all ages. Her debut middle grade novel, Eliza Bing Is (Not) A Big Fat Quitter, received the Christopher Award and was featured on multiple state award lists, including Choose to Read Ohio. And her recent middle grade, Nothing Is Little, was a 2023 Ohioana Book Award finalist. She also co-authored the picture book To the Stars! The First American Woman to Walk in Space (co-authored with astronaut Kathy Sullivan). Carmella lives in Columbus, Ohio. She can be found online at: https://carmellavanvleet.com/.
J. D. Vance
J. D. Vance is an author and venture capitalist known for his memoir Hillbilly Elegy. The book is about the Appalachian values of his upbringing and their relation to the social problems of his hometown. Hillbilly Elegy is the winner of the 2017 Ohioana Book Award About Ohio/An Ohioan.