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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Bryan Prosek
Bryan resides in Columbus, Ohio where he is a practicing business attorney with the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC. He enjoys board games and outdoor activities- hiking, biking, and camping- with his family. His first two novels, The Brighter the Stars and A Measure of Serenity, have been published by CamCat Publishing. His third novel, The Darker the Skies, also being published by CamCat, will be out in the November, 2022. In addition, he has published numerous articles in legal trade journals and magazines. In addition to practicing law and writing, Bryan is actively involved in the fight against human trafficking. He assists several nonprofit organizations that combat human trafficking at various levels both within the United States and around the world. He provides pro bono legal services to these organizations as well as volunteer work. He also sits on the Board of Directors of three such organizations. You can find more about Bryan at his website, http://www.bryankprosek.com, taking you to new worlds.
Bonnie Proudfoot
Bonnie Proudfoot moved to Athens, OH, in 1996. She is the author of Goshen Road, a novel (Swallow Press, 2020), which was Long-listed for the 2021 PEN/ Hemingway Award, selected for Great Group Reads in 2020, and awarded Book of the Year for 2022 by WCONA. She was delighted to participate in Ohioana in 2020. Bonnie has published poetry, fiction, and short prose in many journals. Her first book of poems, Household Gods, was published by Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, in September, 2022. Learn more at: https://bonnieproudfootblog.wordpress.com/
Skye Quinlan
Skye Quinlan (they/them) is a queer, autistic author of YA fiction. They’re an avid reader, have an absurd amount of crystals and gemstones, and if they’re not tending to their garden, you can usually find them playing Animal Crossing. Skye lives in Ohio with their wife, two dogs, a snake, and two lizards. Learn more at: https://skyequinlanbooks.com
Merrill Rainey
Growing up, Merrill Rainey spent most of his Saturday afternoons drawing, watching monster movies, and going on imaginary adventures. Today, he is a cowboy-boot-wearing, picture-book-creator and paper-toy-maker. Merrill’s work focuses on exploring creativity and imaginative play. His current titles include Giants Are Very Brave People (2023 Cybils Awards nominee) written by Florence Parry Heide, Roar! I’m a Dinosaur (winner of the Good Housekeeping Best Kids’ Board Book of 2022), Oink! I’m a Pig, and the Color, Cut, Create series. His newest title My First Town: A Building Block Book, is a modern take on the classic children’s building block toys. Young builders are able to punch, build, and stack a 3D city of their own. My First Town empowers children to know that if they can fold a sheet of paper four times to create a block and add a little bit of creativity and ingenuity, then they can build anything! Merrill also works for many children’s magazines like Highlights, Ranger Rick, and Humpty Dumpty. You can see more of his work at littlerainey.com or follow him on Instagram @littlerainey
Raul Ramos y Sanchez
Cuban-born Raul Ramos y Sanchez grew up in Miami’s cultural kaleidoscope before becoming a long-time resident of the U.S. Midwest. After a successful career in advertising that included founding an ad agency with offices in Ohio and California, Ramos turned to more personally significant work. Works of fiction by Raul include the Class H Trilogy (America Libre, House Divided, and Pancho Land), the coming of age novel, The Skinny Years, and Mustang To Paducah. The author and his work have been featured on television, radio and print publications across the country along with a host of online media sources. Visit Raul on his website, http://www.raulramos.com/.
Kerry Rea
Kerry Rea lives in Columbus, Ohio with her husband and their small army of dogs. She grew up in Youngstown, Ohio and graduated from The University of Notre Dame. She believes that happily ever after is always possible. Learn more at her website: https://www.authorkerryrea.com/
Natalie D. Richards
New York Times Bestselling Author Natalie D. Richards is the author of nine “page-turning thrillers” (School Library Journal), including Five Total Strangers (2020) and Seven Dirty Secrets (2021). Four Found Dead (2023) is her ninth bone-chilling novel. Her first middle-grade novel is called 15 Secrets to Survival and has been hailed as, “a teamwork oriented update to Hatchet.” A champion of literacy and aspiring authors, Richards is a frequent speaker at schools, libraries, and writing groups. She lives in Ohio with her three children and (very) large dog, Wookiee. Visit her at http://www.nataliedrichards.com.
David Rickert
David Rickert grew up in Columbus, Ohio surrounded by stacks of MAD Magazines, Calvin and Hobbes collections, and Walt Disney comics. He spent most of his free time learning about sable hair brushes, non-repro blue pencils, and Bristol boards so he could pursue a career drawing a comic strip. He went to Ohio State University instead to pursue a degree in education, but never gave up on the dream! He drew a daily strip in The Lantern (OSU’s school newspaper) for most of his college years. After earning a teaching degree and working a few years in the classroom, the itch to create comics resurfaced. He headed back to the drawing board (literally) to create educational comics, selling them on the Teachers Pay Teachers marketplace. Educators from around the world have enthusiastically embraced his comics as an effective way to teach difficult language arts concepts, especially with reluctant readers and English language learners. When he’s not drawing comics, David likes to do yoga, play guitar, and read.
Mar Romasco-Moore
Mar Romasco-Moore is the author of the novels Deadstream (forthcoming 2025), I Am the Ghost in Your House, Krazyland, and Some Kind of Animal, as well as the multimedia flash fiction collection Ghostographs. They teach writing at Columbus College of Art and Design. Learn more at: https://marromascomoore.com/
Emilia Rosa
Emilia Rosa was raised in Brazil. During her childhood she lived in Rio de Janeiro, where every sunny weekend was generally spent at the beach. Having moved to South of Brazil, she holds fond memories of summer vacations spent with her married sister in Rio, which also involved many hours at the beach. Her love for the sea and Rio de Janeiro, as well as that city’s history, permeates the pages of her first fiction book, “Finding Cristina.” During her teens she avidly read in Portuguese, Spanish, English, French and Italian. A few years ago she developed a love for murder mysteries written during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Emilia moved back to the United States several years ago. She has published poetry and is finishing Finding Cristina: A New Life, the sequel to Finding Cristina. Her readers can contact her on Facebook/Instagram/Goodreads (Emilia Rosa Author), and Twitter (EmliaURosa1).