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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Juilene Osborne-McKnight
Juilene Osborne-McKnight is Professor Emerita of Literature and Creative Writing, with a writing specialty in Irish Studies. She has published four historical novels from the MacMillan/Tor Forge imprints: I am of Irelaunde, Daughter of Ireland, Bright Sword of Ireland and Song of Ireland. She has also published a journalistic/photographic history of Ireland titled The Story We Carry in Our Bones: Irish History for Americans and a collection of Irish tales titled Storyteller: Irish Myths Legends and Folktales for Americans, both from Pelican Press, both with her daughter Mara Kate McKnight as illustrator. She began her career as a newspaper columnist for the Youngstown Vindicator, and for seven years in the 2000’s was the travel writer/photographer for Pennsylvania’s Calkins Media syndicate. She coordinates a nationwide group of her undergraduate and graduate writers called The Fellowship, dedicated to giving her students writing, publishing and networking opportunities. She has recently retired to Ohio and is currently working on two books centered in the Great Lakes. Osborne-McKnight is a seanchaí, or traditional storyteller in the ancient Irish tradition.
Visit Juilene on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JuileneOsborneMcKnight
Instagram: http://instagram.com/juilenestoryteller
Website: https://juileneosbornemcknight.com/
Bill Osinski
Bill Osinski was a newspaper reporter for 36 years and first covered the Logan murder case for the Akron Beacon Journal. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, he now writes books and screenplays, two of which have been optioned for motion picture projects. He lives with his wife Eileen near Atlanta, Georgia.
Taylor Overbey
Taylor Overbey was the managing editor of GLAD, the Christian Humor Magazine for three years in the early 1980’s. It was here that his numerous comic stories were published in over 17 issues. After leaving GLAD, he moved to California where he wrote and drew short stories for Blackthorne Comics titles Laffin’ Gas and The Legion of Stupid Heroes, and self-syndicated a weekly comic feature called, Curious Words and Fascinating Phrases, about word and phrase origins. He later wrote, performed puppets, and did animated cartoons for a children’s DVD series, A Street Called Straight.
Taylor wrote and illustrated his first children’s book, The SNIT and George Franklin Whit for his son, Elias, when Elias was in the first grade. But nine years later, with the arrival of his second child, Taylor realized he had to think about how to earn a living for the next two decades. So on the first day back to school, the 54-year-old felt very out of place among the 18-20 year olds, and the teacher who was at least a decade younger than himself. At the completion of his undergraduate program, Taylor was offered an adjunct teaching position, something he had never considered, and became excited at the prospect. While in a graduate level children’s illustration course, he wrote The I-Wants and the Gimmies for his daughter, Sophia.
“My father used to call my sister and me, ‘Grab’ and ‘Snatch’, ” says Overbey, “although I was never sure which was which. It wasn’t until I had children of my own that I saw they don’t like to share, naturally. Everything is ‘Mine!’ That, and my father’s nicknames were the inspiration for The I-Wants and the Gimmies.”
He continued on to complete his Master’s degree and is now pursuing a career as a full professor. He lives in Michigan with his wife, Youla, and two children and intends to continue writing children’s books, freelancing as an illustrator and animator, and painting.