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
Eliese Colette Goldbach
Eliese Colette Goldbach received an MFA in nonfiction from the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts Program. Her writing has appeared in Ploughshares, Western Humanities Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and Best American Essays 2017. She received the Ploughshares Emerging Writer’s Award and a Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant from the Ohioana Library Association, which is given to a young Ohio writer of promise. She lives in Willoughby, OH, with her husband.
Suzanne Goldsmith
Suzanne Goldsmith graduated from Harvard University and has worked as the marketing director for a foundation, an associate producer for public television documentaries, a newspaper reporter and freelance magazine writer, and a team leader in a youth community service program. Her first book, A City Year, is the true story of a year in a youth community service program.
Suzanne’s first middle-grade novel, Washashore, was the winner of the 2014 Green Earth Book Award, YA category, and was shortlisted for the Ohioana Book Award, Children’s category. In the book fourteen-year-old Clementine has left her city life in Boston to spend the winter on Martha’s Vineyard. She’s what the locals call a “washashore”: someone who has come to live on the island but isn’t from there. An outsider. Clem doesn’t have any friends and doesn’t fit in. Her mom and dad aren’t getting along. Coco, her friend, is three hours away. But then Clem finds a fallen osprey on the beach and gets involved with the effort to save these endangered birds. When she meets a lonely boy named Daniel, everything changes . . .
Suzanne is currently working on a second novel, set in an abandoned ski lodge in southern Ohio. She visits schools, libraries and summer programs to teach writing workshops and to talk about the writing process. She is also available to do joint visits with a raptor specialist who brings live birds into the classroom. She lives with her family in the Columbus area, and can be found on the web at http://www.suzanne-goldsmith.com.
Linda Gondosch
A former language arts teacher and Northern Kentucky University instructor, Linda Gondosch has written numerous books for children, including picture books, early chapter books, middle grade fiction and nonfiction published by Lerner Publishing Group, Random House, and others. Who Needs a Bratty Brother? won the Kentucky Bluegrass Award. Also, How Did Tea and Taxes Spark a Revolution? was named an Honor Book by the Society of School Librarians International. Gondosch earned a BS in Education from Ohio University and a Master of Education from Northern Kentucky University. She has spoken at over 200 schools and libraries about books and the writing process.
Many of Gondosch’s books were inspired by her own childhood in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as by the adventures of her four children who were raised in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Today Gondosch lives with her husband in Hebron, KY, near Cincinnati. They enjoy traveling throughout the U.S. and Europe, visiting historic sites. After seeing the Mission of San Francisco, Gondosch was inspired to write her book, Junípero Serra: Founder of the California Missions.
Roger Gordon
The Miracle of Richfield: The Story of the 1975-76 Cleveland Cavaliers is Roger Gordon’s fifth book and his second on the Cavaliers. His Tales from the Cleveland Cavaliers: The Rookie Season of LeBron James was published in 2004. Prior to that, he published books about the Cleveland Browns and one on the Cincinnati Bengals. Gordon lives in North Canton, Ohio.
Sarah Gormley
Sarah Gormley’s debut memoir, The Order of Things is the story of how her return to the family farm to care for her dying mother changed her life in ways she never imagined possible. She owns the Sarah Gormley Gallery in Columbus, Ohio, which operates from the belief that original art can be a source of joy for everyone.
Chelsea Gottfried
Chelsea Gottfried works as a naturalist and nature-based preschool teacher for the Crawford Park District in north central Ohio. She is an avid gardener and a passionate entomologist. https://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Gardening+for+Moths
John J. Grabowski
John J. Grabowski works as the Krieger-Mueller Associate Professor of Applied History at Case Western Reserve University and as the Krieger-Mueller Chief Historian at the Western Reserve Historical Society. He is the editor of the online edition of The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History and The Dictionary of Cleveland Biography. https://history.case.edu/faculty/john-grabowski/
Marilyn Greenwald
Marilyn Greenwald is a professor emerita of Journalism at Ohio University, where she taught courses in news reporting, biography writing and the writing of reviews and criticism. She also worked for ten years as a news reporter and business writer at daily newspapers in Ohio. She is the author of four biographies, including A Woman of the Times: Journalism, Feminism and the Career of Charlotte Curtis, (1999).
Maria Gregory
Maria Gregory is a thoughtful guide and quiet force behind The Lion You Don’t See, a deeply moving work born from her desire to reach young readers navigating today’s silent battles—anxiety, self-doubt, and feeling unseen. As a mentor and encourager at heart, Maria was stirred to write this book to help others, especially the next generation, recognize that the strength they long for is already within them. Through gentle storytelling and powerful imagery, she invites every reader to uncover the courage they may not even realize they carry.
Born with a heart for teaching and mentoring, Maria has spent decades uplifting others through service and innovation. She served as a volunteer Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for over ten years, and to this day, continues to mentor her “little sisters,” who are now raising families of their own. Her commitment to empowering young minds also led her to
serve as a judge for the Invention Convention League in 2012, 2013, 2014, and again in 2018—and she’s honored to return for the 2025 season.
Maria is the creator of iRiseUp.AI, a platform designed to make AI more human-centered, accessible, and purposeful. Built for dreamers and underdogs, iRiseUp.AI is rooted in the belief that technology should lift people up—not leave them behind.
Whether in her writing, her mentorship, or her quiet innovation, Maria’s mission is simple but powerful: to help others rise, with grace, hope, and the kind of courage that often goes unseen.
She is a proud Presidential Member of the American Association of Christian Counselors, offering wisdom and counsel that is both practical and faith-filled.
While her résumé spans counseling, education, and tech innovation, Maria wears her titles lightly. To those who know her, she’s simply a devoted wife, stepmom, aunt, godmother, and faithful friend.
Whether she’s guiding a mentee, supporting her community, or sharing a quiet moment with family, Maria leads with empathy and intention.
The Lion You Don’t See is more than a book—it’s Maria’s invitation to readers of all ages to recognize the quiet power within. Whether in her writing, her mentorship, or her quiet innovation, Maria’s mission is simple but powerful: to help others rise, with grace, hope, and the kind of courage that often goes unseen.
Learn more at: https://www.thelionyoudontsee.com/
Michael Griffith
Michael Griffith’s most recent novel, Trophy (Northwestern University Press/TriQuarterly), was named one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best 25 Books of Fiction for 2011. His previous books, both from Arcade, are the novel Spikes and the story collection Bibliophilia. Griffith is Professor of English at the University of Cincinnati.