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
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 Lisa Amstutz

Lisa Amstutz

Lisa Amstutz is the author of more than 150 books for children. She holds degrees in Biology and Environmental Science. A former outdoor educator, she specializes in topics related to nature, sustainability, and agriculture. Lisa lives with her family on a small farm in Ohio. https://www.lisaamstutz.comRead More

Lisa Amstutz is the author of more than 150 books for children. She holds degrees in Biology and Environmental Science. A former outdoor educator, she specializes in topics related to nature, sustainability, and agriculture. Lisa lives with her family on a small farm in Ohio. https://www.lisaamstutz.com

Photo of Jodi Andes

Jodi Andes

Jodi Andes’ debut, Master of Deceit, is a true crime book about John Donald Cody, one of the most formidable conmen in modern history, who defrauded veterans of $100 million using the name Lt. Commander Bobby Thompson, and stayed one step ahead of law enforcement for 25 years. By time law enforcement could catch him, Cody would be wanted for frauds, stolen identities, questioning in espionage and accused in one of the greatest security breaches in White House history.…Read More

Jodi Andes’ debut, Master of Deceit, is a true crime book about John Donald Cody, one of the most formidable conmen in modern history, who defrauded veterans of $100 million using the name Lt. Commander Bobby Thompson, and stayed one step ahead of law enforcement for 25 years. By time law enforcement could catch him, Cody would be wanted for frauds, stolen identities, questioning in espionage and accused in one of the greatest security breaches in White House history. Master of Deceit focuses on Cody’s crimes, and the mysteries surrounding political access he gained as the fake lieutenant commander. It is slated to be published in March 2020 through Micro Publishing Media, Inc.

The book began attracting media attention before publishing. The book was featured on the Perfect Scam podcast, an AARP podcast hosted by the author of Catch Me If You Can, by Frank Abagnale. She has been asked to do two magazine articles about the book – one for a historical Ohio magazine and the other, for a trade publication for members of the Arizona Attorney Bar Association.

Ms. Andes spent much of her career as a newspaper reporter for the Columbus Dispatch. She left in 2009 on the verge of the newspaper’s downsizing, though she later returned to journalism to head up an investigative team for WBNS-10TV news for two years. Former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray hired Ms. Andes to serve as his senior investigator, which is where she was assigned to work on the Bobby Thompson case. She has also spent more than five years doing communications for governmental agencies. She currently is a Public Information Officer for the Franklin County Commissioners. She lives in Pickerington with her two sons and their two dogs.

Photo of Beth Armstrong

Beth Armstrong

Beth Armstrong spent much of her life caring for and observing gorillas—first as a keeper and then as head keeper at the Columbus Zoo, 1982–1996. She became a passionate proponent and voice for gorillas in the wild—and many other species—as the first Field Conservation Coordinator at the Columbus and Brevard Zoos, respectively. She continues to promote the role of zoos in supporting fieldwork that actively protects great ape species in the wild.Read More

Beth Armstrong spent much of her life caring for and observing gorillas—first as a keeper and then as head keeper at the Columbus Zoo, 1982–1996. She became a passionate proponent and voice for gorillas in the wild—and many other species—as the first Field Conservation Coordinator at the Columbus and Brevard Zoos, respectively. She continues to promote the role of zoos in supporting fieldwork that actively protects great ape species in the wild.

Photo of Patricia Averbach

Patricia Averbach

Patricia Averbach, a Cleveland native, is the former director of the Chautauqua Writers' Center in Chautauqua, New York. Her first novel, Painting Bridges dealt with historic issues in deaf education. It was described by Michelle Ross, critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, as "an intelligent, introspective and moving novel." Averbach was the 2013 winner of the London based Lumen/Camden Prize for Poetry.…Read More

Patricia Averbach, a Cleveland native, is the former director of the Chautauqua Writers’ Center in Chautauqua, New York. Her first novel, Painting Bridges dealt with historic issues in deaf education. It was described by Michelle Ross, critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, as “an intelligent, introspective and moving novel.” Averbach was the 2013 winner of the London based Lumen/Camden Prize for Poetry. Her poetry chapbook, Missing Persons, was featured in the Times of London Literary Supplement as one of the top poetry pamphlets of the year. For more on Averbach go to her website at patriciaaverbach.com.

Photo of Ellis Avery

Ellis Avery

Ellis Avery is the author of award-winning books. Her second novel, The Last Nude (Riverhead 2012), inspired by the Art Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka, won the 2013 ALA Stonewall Fiction Award. The Last Nude has received starred reviews from Booklist and Library Journal as well as praise from The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, SF Weekly, Vogue, O: The Oprah Magazine, and NPR.…

Read More

Ellis Avery is the author of award-winning books. Her second novel, The Last Nude (Riverhead 2012), inspired by the Art Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka, won the 2013 ALA Stonewall Fiction Award. The Last Nude has received starred reviews from Booklist and Library Journal as well as praise from The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, SF Weekly, Vogue, O: The Oprah Magazine, and NPR. In addition to The Last Nude, Avery is the author of a first novel, The Teahouse Fire. Set in the tea ceremony world of 19th century Japan, The Teahouse Fire won Lambda, Ohioana, and American Library Association awards and was translated into five languages. Avery is also the author of The Smoke Week, an award-winning 9/11 memoir. Ellis grew up in Columbus, Ohio, attending Columbus School for Girls until the age of eleven. She received a BA from Bryn Mawr College and an M.F.A. from Goddard College and now teaches fiction writing at Columbia University and lives in New York City.

Thomas E. Barden

Thomas E. Barden is Professor of English and Dean of the Honors College at the University of Toledo.Read More

Thomas E. Barden is Professor of English and Dean of the Honors College at the University of Toledo.

Cheryl Bardoe

Cheryl Bardoe combines her passion for writing and her curiosity about the world to create award-winning books for young readers. She has an MFA in writing for children and enjoys talking with young readers and their parents and educators at schools, libraries, literacy institutes and other events. She studied journalism at Northwestern University and has worked in public relations and in the exhibitions department at Chicago’s Field Museum.…Read More

Cheryl Bardoe combines her passion for writing and her curiosity about the world to create award-winning books for young readers. She has an MFA in writing for children and enjoys talking with young readers and their parents and educators at schools, libraries, literacy institutes and other events. She studied journalism at Northwestern University and has worked in public relations and in the exhibitions department at Chicago’s Field Museum. Over the years, Bardoe has written everything from five-word marketing slogans to policy reports, brochures, magazine articles, education pieces, direct mail letters, annual reports, press kits, newsletters, websites and text for a museum exhibition about dinosaurs from China. She’s even written signs telling people where to find the bathrooms! Bardoe grew up in Columbus, Ohio and is a graduate of Columbus Alternative High School. She currently lives in Chicago with her family.

Photo of Rebecca Barnhouse

Rebecca Barnhouse

Rebecca writes books about—and inspired by—the Middle Ages. She earned her doctorate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and medieval literature written in Old and Middle English, Old Norse, and other fascinating languages. A native of Vero Beach, Florida, she now lives in Ohio, where is a professor of English at Youngstown State University.…Read More

Rebecca writes books about—and inspired by—the Middle Ages. She earned her doctorate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied Anglo-Saxon manuscripts and medieval literature written in Old and Middle English, Old Norse, and other fascinating languages. A native of Vero Beach, Florida, she now lives in Ohio, where is a professor of English at Youngstown State University.

When she was growing up, reading was like breathing to Rebecca. It still is. She loved the Little House books, and fought with her brother over books in the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series. Later, she discovered science fiction and fantasy, from The Lord of the Rings to Arthur C. Clarke to Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea series and many, many other books that she and her best friend shared. They still do.

Photo by Carl Leet

Mike Bartell

Mike Bartell, a lifelong resident of Toledo, Ohio, covered numerous space shuttle missions during his award-winning thirty-five-year career as a reporter and editor at The Blade in Toledo. He also taught journalism at the University of Toledo for more than thirty years.Read More

Mike Bartell, a lifelong resident of Toledo, Ohio, covered numerous space shuttle missions during his award-winning thirty-five-year career as a reporter and editor at The Blade in Toledo. He also taught journalism at the University of Toledo for more than thirty years.

Photo of Will Bashor

Will Bashor

Will Bashor, MBA, Ph.D., also has a B.A. degree in French and an M.A. degree in French literature from Ohio University. He earned his Ph.D. in International Studies from the American Graduate School in Paris where he gathered letters, newspapers, journals, and plays during his research for his trilogy on Marie Antoinette. Professor at Franklin University and Southern New Hampshire University, he is also a member of the Society for French Historical Studies.…Read More

Will Bashor, MBA, Ph.D., also has a B.A. degree in French and an M.A. degree in French literature from Ohio University. He earned his Ph.D. in International Studies from the American Graduate School in Paris where he gathered letters, newspapers, journals, and plays during his research for his trilogy on Marie Antoinette. Professor at Franklin University and Southern New Hampshire University, he is also a member of the Society for French Historical Studies. In 2013 he attended its annual meeting at Harvard University where he presented the political importance of the role of Leonard Autié, Marie Antoinette’s coiffeur, in the royal family’s unsuccessful flight to Varennes. Visit him at http://www.willbashor.com

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4…Page 41Page 42