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.

For more information about our collection and programming for authors, please click on the "Authors" main tab above. 

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Photo of Eliot Parker

Eliot Parker

Eliot Parker is an award-winning author. His latest collection of short stories, Snapshots was a finalist in short story genre by the American Fiction Awards as well as the Readers Favorite International Book Awards. He is also the author of four novels, most recently A Knife’s Edge, which was an Honorable Mention in Thriller Writing at the London Book Festival, and is the sequel to the award-winning novel Fragile Brilliance.…

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Eliot Parker is an award-winning author. His latest collection of short stories, Snapshots was a finalist in short story genre by the American Fiction Awards as well as the Readers Favorite International Book Awards. He is also the author of four novels, most recently A Knife’s Edge, which was an Honorable Mention in Thriller Writing at the London Book Festival, and is the sequel to the award-winning novel Fragile Brilliance. Fragile Brilliance was a finalist for the Southern Book Prize in Thriller Writing and his third novel, Code for Murder, was named a 2018 Finalist for Genre Fiction by American Book Fest. Eliot is a recipient of the West Virginia Literary Merit Award and he recently received with the Thriller Writing Award by the National Association of Book Editors (NABE) for his novels. In 2019, he received the JUG Award by the West Virginia Writers, Inc. organization for his creative work as well as his role in promoting writers and the literary arts in his home state of West Virginia. Eliot is the host of the podcast program Now, Appalachia, which profiles authors and publishers living and writing in the Appalachian region and is heard on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network. The program is the most listened to podcast program on the network. A graduate of the Bluegrass Writers Studio at Eastern Kentucky University with his MFA in Creative Writing and Murray State University with his Doctorate in English, he teaches writing at the University of Mississippi and lives in Oxford, Mississippi and Chesapeake, Ohio.

Photo of Emily Patterson

Emily Patterson

Emily Patterson is the author of So Much Tending Remains (Kelsay Books), a collection of poems chronicling the first year of motherhood. She received her B.A. in English from Ohio Wesleyan University—where she was awarded the F.L. Hunt Prize for Most Promising Creative Writer, the Marie Drennan Prize for Poetry, and the Class of 1870 Memorial Prize for Creative Nonfiction—and her M.A.…Read More

Emily Patterson is the author of So Much Tending Remains (Kelsay Books), a collection of poems chronicling the first year of motherhood. She received her B.A. in English from Ohio Wesleyan University—where she was awarded the F.L. Hunt Prize for Most Promising Creative Writer, the Marie Drennan Prize for Poetry, and the Class of 1870 Memorial Prize for Creative Nonfiction—and her M.A. in Literature for Children and Young Adults from The Ohio State University. Emily is the 2022 contest judge for the Minerva Rising Press poetry chapbook competition, “Dare to Be . . .” In 2021, her poem “On the Playground, I Think About How a Mother Is Like a Moth” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Emily’s work has appeared in numerous anthologies and journals, including Rust and Moth, Mom Egg Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, The Sunlight Press, Literary Mama, The Mum Poem Press, Thimble Literary Magazine, and elsewhere.

Photo of Shelley Pearsall

Shelley Pearsall

Shelley Pearsall is the nationally-recognized author of seven fiction novels for readers in grades 4 to 8. Her novels, All of the Above, and The Seventh Most Important Thing, were ALA Notable Books. Trouble Don't Last was the winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction and an Ohioana award winner. Shelley's books are frequent choices for community and all-school reads.…Read More

Shelley Pearsall is the nationally-recognized author of seven fiction novels for readers in grades 4 to 8. Her novels, All of the Above, and The Seventh Most Important Thing, were ALA Notable Books. Trouble Don’t Last was the winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction and an Ohioana award winner. Shelley’s books are frequent choices for community and all-school reads. They cover a wide variety of topics including art, U.S. history, geometry–and even, Elvis! Shelley is a former teacher with a Master’s in Education and she is a frequent school presenter.

Photo of Carlotta Penn

Carlotta Penn

Carlotta Penn has loved writing since she was a young girl. At age eight she wrote in her diary, “I love to write books. I am an author.” Now all grown up, she has written several picture books, including Bright Boy ABCs and The Turtle With an Afro series. She plans to write many more.…Read More
Carlotta Penn has loved writing since she was a young girl. At age eight she wrote in her diary, “I love to write books. I am an author.” Now all grown up, she has written several picture books, including Bright Boy ABCs and The Turtle With an Afro series. She plans to write many more. Carlotta lives in Columbus, OH with her husband and three children.
Photo of Nomar Perez

Nomar Perez

Nomar Perez was born on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, in the city of Ponce, and moved with his parents and five siblings to Ohio when he was ten. Nomar is heavily influenced by all types of media, most especially animation, puppetry, and computer art. He studied computer animation and painting at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and since then has worked as a designer, illustrator, and art director on social expression products in the categories of humor, children, and young adults.…Read More

Nomar Perez was born on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, in the city of Ponce, and moved with his parents and five siblings to Ohio when he was ten. Nomar is heavily influenced by all types of media, most especially animation, puppetry, and computer art. He studied computer animation and painting at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and since then has worked as a designer, illustrator, and art director on social expression products in the categories of humor, children, and young adults. Nomar has also illustrated numerous children’s board books and school publishing books and is a recipient of the Pura Belpré Author & Illustrator Honor for his picture book, Coquí in the City.

Photo of Morgan Perryman

Morgan Perryman

Morgan Perryman is a new author from the Midwestern United States. She is a true bibliophile, who has always had a love for books. Morgan has a Master's in Education and a Bachelor's Degree in English, who previously taught 7th and 8th-grade reading and writing.She is a mother of three and comes from a huge family.…Read More
Morgan Perryman is a new author from the Midwestern United States. She is a true bibliophile, who has always had a love for books. Morgan has a Master’s in Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in English, who previously taught 7th and 8th-grade reading and writing.She is a mother of three and comes from a huge family. Her early writer influences include a variety of classic and modern writers, including Jane Austen and Tamora Pierce.

Roger Pickenpaugh

Roger Pickenpaugh was a teacher at Shenandoah Middle School in Sarahsville, Ohio, for 30 years before retiring. His books have focused mainly on outstanding Ohio weather events and the Civil War. His most recent work, Johnson’s Island: A Prison for Confederate Officers, won the Bowling Green Center for Archival Collections Local History Publication Award.Read More

Roger Pickenpaugh was a teacher at Shenandoah Middle School in Sarahsville, Ohio, for 30 years before retiring. His books have focused mainly on outstanding Ohio weather events and the Civil War. His most recent work, Johnson’s Island: A Prison for Confederate Officers, won the Bowling Green Center for Archival Collections Local History Publication Award.

Photo of Nancy Roe Pimm

Nancy Roe Pimm

Nancy Roe Pimm is an award-winning author of many books and articles for children. In addition to Fly, Girl, Fly:Shaesta Waiz Soars Around the World. Pimm is the author of middle-grade biography The Jerrie Mock Story: The First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World. Pimm visits schools and organizations to encourage the next generation to believe in their dreams and to challenge the possibilities.…Read More

Nancy Roe Pimm is an award-winning author of many books and articles for children. In addition to Fly, Girl, Fly:Shaesta Waiz Soars Around the World. Pimm is the author of middle-grade biography The Jerrie Mock Story: The First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World. Pimm visits schools and organizations to encourage the next generation to believe in their dreams and to challenge the possibilities. She also teaches writing workshops, virtually and in-person. Pimm lives with her retired race-car driver husband in Plain City, Ohio. Nancy and Ed have three daughters and two grandsons. They share their home with two dogs, one cat, and one snake. To discover more of Pimm’s books, visit her website: http://www.nancyroepimm.com

Photo of Elana Pitts

Elana Pitts

Elana is a writer who has been published in 6 anthologies under Lake Erie Ink (LEI) and read at the 2017 Cleveland Drafts. Her first book, Little Wolfpine, was self-published in 2021. In 2022, she read at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA). She is currently working as a program assistant, going into schools to help students express themselves creatively as she continues her work on new installments while pursuing her creative writing degree.…Read More

Elana is a writer who has been published in 6 anthologies under Lake Erie Ink (LEI) and read at the 2017 Cleveland Drafts. Her first book, Little Wolfpine, was self-published in 2021. In 2022, she read at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA). She is currently working as a program assistant, going into schools to help students express themselves creatively as she continues her work on new installments while pursuing her creative writing degree. Learn more: https://elanapittsep.wixsite.com/website-3

Andy J. Pizza

Andy J. Pizza is a New York Times Bestselling author-illustrator of many books for children and adults such as Invisible Things and A Pizza with Everything On It. Pizza is also the creator of the popular podcast Creative Pep Talk. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his family.…Read More

Andy J. Pizza is a New York Times Bestselling author-illustrator of many books for children and adults such as Invisible Things and A Pizza with Everything On It. Pizza is also the creator of the popular podcast Creative Pep Talk. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his family. Learn more at http://www.andyjpizza.com.

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