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): Nonfiction
Claire Gebben
Claire Gebben was born and raised on the southeast side of Cleveland, Ohio. Her historical novel “The Last of the Blacksmiths” (Coffeetown Press, 2014), based on the true story of a German immigrant blacksmith to Ohio, has been named a Notable Book at Cleveland State University’s Michael Schwartz Library, and Book of the Month with the German American Heritage Foundation. Her memoir, “How We Survive Here: Families Across Time” (Coffeetown Press, 2018) recounts the author’s quest to trace and write the truth about her ancestors. The memoir received a Finalist Award in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. In the name of historical research, Ms. Gebben has harvested grapes in the German Rhinelands and wielded a blacksmith hammer on fiery hot steel. She lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. More info at: http://clairegebben.com.
Carole Gerber
Carole Gerber is a poet and children’s book author living in Powell, Ohio. She has written nearly two dozen picture books, early readers, and chapter books.
Gerber has worked as a high school and middle school English teacher, an adjunct professor of journalism at Ohio State, a marketing director, editor of a company magazine, a member of creative teams at an ad agency and a hospital, a contributing editor to a computer magazine, and – finally! – as a freelance writer of hundreds of elementary textbooks, magazine articles, speeches, annual reports, and patient education materials.
Besides being a “Jill” of many trades – or more precisely – one trade, writing, with many incarnations, Gerber is married to Mark, the mother of two grown daughters, Jess and Paige, and “Mimi” to Sara and Tyler, Paige’s children. In addition, she sponsors half a dozen children at a time through World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children of all faiths in more than 100 developing countries. Gerber keeps their photos posted to remind her of her blessings and responsibilities.
In her free time, she volunteers as a tour guide for children at a local nature preserve and farm. Gerber also enjoys gardening, though her enthusiasm dwindles as summer progresses, and reading, mostly for her own pleasure and edification. Gerber belongs to a neighborhood book discussion group, enjoys traveling to learn about other countries and cultures, and practices yoga which, like writing, is humbling and challenging. For more information, visit http://carolegerber.com/
David Giffels
David Giffels is the author of eight books of nonfiction, most recently The Beginning Was the End: Devo in Ohio, coauthored with Jade Dellinger. His 2020 book Barnstorming Ohio: To Understand America, was described by Publishers Weekly as a “trenchant mix of memoir, reportage, and political analysis,” and selected as one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2020. His other books include the memoirs Furnishing Eternity and All the Way Home, both winners of the Ohioana Book Award, and The Hard Way on Purpose, a New York Times Book Review “Editors’ Choice.” His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Parade, The Iowa Review, Esquire, Grantland, and many other publications. He also wrote for the MTV animated series Beavis and Butt-Head. He is a professor of English at the University of Akron, where he serves on the faculty of the NEOMFA creative writing program.
Richard Gilbert
Richard Gilbert holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Goucher College and teaches writing at Otterbein University. Gilbert formerly served as marketing manager of Ohio University Press/Swallow Press, where he also helped acquire books dealing with farming. In prior years he worked as a newspaper reporter in Georgia, Florida, and Indiana, where he was honored for public service and feature writing, and was awarded a Kiplinger fellowship to Ohio State University.…
Read MoreRichard Gilbert holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Goucher College and teaches writing at Otterbein University. Gilbert formerly served as marketing manager of Ohio University Press/Swallow Press, where he also helped acquire books dealing with farming. In prior years he worked as a newspaper reporter in Georgia, Florida, and Indiana, where he was honored for public service and feature writing, and was awarded a Kiplinger fellowship to Ohio State University. His essays have appeared in Brevity; Chautauqua; Farming: People Land Community; Fourth Genre; Orion; The Shepherd; and other journals. He blogs about writing, books, and the land at his website, richardgilbert.me.
Peggy Faw Gish
Peggy Faw Gish has been working in Iraq with Christian Peacemaker Teams since October 2002. Peggy lives on a farm near Athens, Ohio, where she is a member of the Church of the Brethren, a mother, grandmother, farmer, and community mediator. She is also a former co-director of the Appalachian Peace and Justice Network in Athens and has been involved in peace and social justice work for the past 45 years.…
Read MorePeggy Faw Gish has been working in Iraq with Christian Peacemaker Teams since October 2002. Peggy lives on a farm near Athens, Ohio, where she is a member of the Church of the Brethren, a mother, grandmother, farmer, and community mediator. She is also a former co-director of the Appalachian Peace and Justice Network in Athens and has been involved in peace and social justice work for the past 45 years. Her first book, Iraq: A Journey of Hope and Peace, covers her first two years of work in Iraq. Her second book, Walking Through Fire: Iraqis’ Struggle for Justice and Reconciliation, continues the story of the Iraqi people through 2011.
Marty Gitlin
Marty Gitlin is a freelance author and sportswriter based in Cleveland. He has had about 70 educational books published since 2006 in the realms of pop culture, sports, history and biographies about notable people in all walks of life. His professional pride and joy is The Great American Cereal Book, which has been lauded as a fun, funny, colorful coffee table book by the New York Times, Time Magazine, Reader’s Digest and the Wall Street Journal. The book has received excellent reviews in other publications throughout the nation. Gitlin has been interviewed on dozens of radio and television stations in Ohio and around the country, including WGN in Chicago and Fox News in Columbus.
Martin Gitlin
Martin Gitlin is an award-winning journalist and author based in Cleveland. He has had more than 130 books published since 2006. Most were written for students of all grade levels in the realms of sports, history/social studies, pop culture and biographies. Marty has also authored many very successful trade books, including The Great American Cereal Book and the highly acclaimed Powerful Moments in Sports: The Most Significant Sporting Events in American History. He is quite proud of his newest book, titled A Celebration of Animation: The 100 Greatest Cartoon Characters in Television History. Marty won more than 45 awards as a newspaper journalist before focusing on freelance writing. He also covered the Cleveland Browns for CBS Sports from 2009 to 2012 and is an experienced and fun presenter at schools and libraries.
Lloyd C. Glover
Lloyd C. Glover spend twenty years in the United States Army before retiring as a sergeant first class on September 1, 1996. He started his Army career as a Nike Hercules missile crewman, Army Recruiter where he earned next to the highest recruiting award of three sapphires to the gold recruiting badge. He later served as a Patriot missile senior sergeant serving two combat tours in Israel and Saudi Arabia. He later served as the chief instructor over the Patriot missile course at Fort Bliss, Texas before his retirement. Lloyd is an ordained minister, a former young pastor and now a founder and pastor of two international Christian websites and an online Bible training center. Lloyd attended World Harvest Bible College’s School of the Spirit. He grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, during the sixties and seventies. This was a time of racial unrest and tension in the United States. The Vietnam War was ongoing, and he was a witness when life in the United States for all nationalities was improving. He is happily married to his wife Tammy (Bland) Glover, of forty years. They have four adult children, seven grandkids, and two great-granddaughters. He is proud that two of his children followed in his military footsteps. His daughter Tiesha is an Air Force Veteran and his Christopher Emmanuel is currently serving in the Navy as a chief petty officer. His book is written for the purpose of being a teaching tool, a reminder to believers that we all have a role in Jesus’s commandment of the Great Commission, and that we all can be instrumental in saving souls for God’s kingdom. Lloyd stands on the words of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Amen.
David Gold
David Gold retired a few years ago from the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, where he worked as an attorney. He holds a PhD in history from The Ohio State University and is the author or editor of ten books and numerous articles in law and history journals. His works include two volumes on his native Sullivan County, New York; three judicial biographies; a collection of Civil War letters; and a history of the Ohio General Assembly. His latest book is Slavery and Scandal: The Ohio Gubernatorial Debates of 1859.