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): Poetry
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 Jeanne Bryner

Jeanne Bryner

Jeanne Bryner was born in Appalachia and grew up in Newton Falls, Ohio. A practicing registered nurse, she is a graduate of Trumbull Memorial’s School of Nursing and Kent State University’s Honors College. She has received writing fellowships from Bucknell University, the Ohio Arts Council (’97, 07), and Vermont Studio Center. Her poetry has been adapted for the stage and performed in Ohio, West Virginia, New York, Kentucky and Edinburgh, Scotland.…Read More

Jeanne Bryner was born in Appalachia and grew up in Newton Falls, Ohio. A practicing registered nurse, she is a graduate of Trumbull Memorial’s School of Nursing and Kent State University’s Honors College. She has received writing fellowships from Bucknell University, the Ohio Arts Council (’97, 07), and Vermont Studio Center. Her poetry has been adapted for the stage and performed in Ohio, West Virginia, New York, Kentucky and Edinburgh, Scotland. With the support of Hiram College’s Center for Literature, Medicine and Biomedical Humanities, her nursing poetry has been adapted for the stage and performed by Verb Ballets in Cleveland, Ohio. She has a new play, “Foxglove Canyon” and she has eight books in print. She received an outstanding alumnae award from KSU, Trumbull Campus and her book, No Matter How Many Windows received the Working Class Studies’ Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing in Chicago. A community affiliate of the Center for Working Class Studies, she often writes about working class issues. She lives with her husband near a dairy farm in Newton Falls, Ohio. Bryner’s Smoke: Poems received second place in the 2012 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Awards. (Photo credit to Tammy Streets)

Photo of Kathleen Burgess

Kathleen Burgess

Kathleen S. Burgess hitchhiked from Washington, D.C., to Lima, Peru in 1971-2. What Burden Do Those Trains Bear Away is a memoir in poetry of this journey. Burgess is the editor of Reeds and Rushes—Pitch, Buzz, and Hum (Pudding House), author of Shaping What Was Left (Pudding House), Gardening with Wallace Stevens (Moria Books), and The Wonder Cupboard (NightBallet Press, 2019).…Read More

Kathleen S. Burgess hitchhiked from Washington, D.C., to Lima, Peru in 1971-2. What Burden Do Those Trains Bear Away is a memoir in poetry of this journey. Burgess is the editor of Reeds and Rushes—Pitch, Buzz, and Hum (Pudding House), author of Shaping What Was Left (Pudding House), Gardening with Wallace Stevens (Moria Books), and The Wonder Cupboard (NightBallet Press, 2019). A retired public school music teacher, her poetry has been published by, or is forthcoming in North American Review, Main Street Rag, Sou’wester, Malpaís Review,  Cigar City Poetry Journal, Central American Poetry Review, others. History, world cultures, and an extensive musical background inform her poetry, research for professional presentations, and her collected musical instrument displays. http://www.kathleensburgess.com.

Neil Carpathios

Neil Carpathios is the author of three full-length poetry collections: Playground of Flesh (runner-up in the Main Street Rag Press Book Competition), At the Axis of Imponderables (winner of the Quercus Review Press Book Award), and Beyond the Bones (runner-up in the FutureCycle Press Book Competition). He also has published several award-winning chapbooks.…Read More

Neil Carpathios is the author of three full-length poetry collections: Playground of Flesh (runner-up in the Main Street Rag Press Book Competition), At the Axis of Imponderables (winner of the Quercus Review Press Book Award), and Beyond the Bones (runner-up in the FutureCycle Press Book Competition). He also has published several award-winning chapbooks. The recipient of fellowships and grants from the Ohio Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, he teaches and is Coordinator of Creative Writing at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Photo of Anna Cates

Anna Cates

Anna Cates is a graduate of Indiana State University (M.A. English and Ph.D. Curriculum & Instruction/English) and National University (M.F.A. Creative Writing).  Her first collections of poetry and fiction, The Meaning of Life and The Frog King, were published by Cyberwit Press, and her second poetry collection, The Darkroom, by Prolific Press. …Read More

Anna Cates is a graduate of Indiana State University (M.A. English and Ph.D. Curriculum & Instruction/English) and National University (M.F.A. Creative Writing).  Her first collections of poetry and fiction, The Meaning of Life and The Frog King, were published by Cyberwit Press, and her second poetry collection, The Darkroom, by Prolific Press.  She lives in Ohio with her two beautiful kitties and teaches education and English online, including graduate courses in creative writing.

Anna Cates’ Amazon author’s homepage:    https://www.amazon.com/A.-Cates/e/B006TGBCT2

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Anna Cates in the “Living Haiku Anthology”:

http://livinghaikuanthology.com/poet-portfolios/290-c-poets/anna-cates.html

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Anna Cates at Deviant Art:  https://www.deviantart.com/annacates/gallery/

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Anna Cates on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/catesanna

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Anna Cates on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/anna.cates.58

 

Photo of Marianne Chan

Marianne Chan

Marianne Chan grew up in Stuttgart, Germany, and Lansing, Michigan. After she earned her B.A. in English from Michigan State University, she went on to study poetry at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she earned her MFA. Marianne is the author of All Heathens, which was the winner of the 2021 GLCA New Writers Award in Poetry and the 2021 Ohioana Book Award in Poetry.…Read More

Marianne Chan grew up in Stuttgart, Germany, and Lansing, Michigan. After she earned her B.A. in English from Michigan State University, she went on to study poetry at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she earned her MFA. Marianne is the author of All Heathens, which was the winner of the 2021 GLCA New Writers Award in Poetry and the 2021 Ohioana Book Award in Poetry. Her poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, New England Review, Kenyon Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and elsewhere. Between 2017-2019, she served as poetry editor for Split Lip Magazine.She lives in Cincinnati with her partner, Clancy, and her cat, Bella. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English & Creative Writing at the University of Cincinnati and serves as the Assistant Poetry Editor at Acre Books.

Andrea Cheng

The child of Hungarian immigrants, Andrea Cheng was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio in an extended family with three generations under one roof. She and her family spoke both Hungarian and English at home. After graduating with a BA in English from Cornell University, Cheng went to Switzerland, where she apprenticed to a bookbinder, attended a school of bookbinding called The Centro del Bel Libro, and learned French.…

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The child of Hungarian immigrants, Andrea Cheng was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio in an extended family with three generations under one roof. She and her family spoke both Hungarian and English at home. After graduating with a BA in English from Cornell University, Cheng went to Switzerland, where she apprenticed to a bookbinder, attended a school of bookbinding called The Centro del Bel Libro, and learned French. Upon her return, she went back to Cornell to study Chinese and got her MS in linguistics. Now, Cheng teaches English as a Second Language at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and writes children’s books including Grandfather Counts, Marika, The Key Collection, Honeysuckle House, Where the Steps Were, The Bear Makers, and Brushing Mom’s Hair. Cheng lives in Cincinnati with her husband Jim. They have three children: Nicholas, Jane, and Ann. Visit Andrea online at http://www.andreacheng.com/.

Photo of Colleen Clayton

Colleen Clayton

Colleen Clayton is the critically acclaimed author of the YA novel What Happens Next, which was a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award. She grew up outside of Cleveland, Ohio, and worked as a social worker in residential treatment centers for troubled teens and as Program Supervisor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mahoning Valley.…Read More

Colleen Clayton is the critically acclaimed author of the YA novel What Happens Next, which was a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award. She grew up outside of Cleveland, Ohio, and worked as a social worker in residential treatment centers for troubled teens and as Program Supervisor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mahoning Valley. She holds an MFA in fiction writing from the Northeast Ohio Consortium (NEOMFA) and teaches fiction writing and composition at Youngstown State University. She was recently contracted by YSU’s Special Education Department to teach an online summer writing course for 4th and 5th graders. As part of the project, she wrote eight online picture books for the students and then helped them craft their own stories using the free, educational platform Storybird. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoQSxqNyJHkZdqzDo5QOXfg

Colleen can speak on a number of subjects, including date rape, bullying, eating disorders, feminist issues in young adult literature, and ADHD, and can lead an hour-long creative writing workshop for grades 3 through 12 as well as for adults. She has facilitated in-service workshops for librarians and teachers as well.

In-Service Testimonial from Jennifer Holt, Librarian at Willoughby South High School:
“Colleen’s story starting exercise was fun and inspiring! It fostered creative interplay between my original ideas and the surprising places my colleagues took them.”

For more on Colleen, go to her website at colleenclayton.com.

Brian P. Cleary

Born in Lakewood, Ohio, the third oldest of nine children, Brian P. Cleary grew up reading the bouncy rhymes of Dr. Seuss. A frustrated student and reluctant learner, Brian daydreamed from class to class until being introduced to poetry at about age eight. Intrigued, he set on a course to explore the wonder of words. He "grew up" in one of the 5 largest creative divisions in the world—American Greetings.…Read More

Born in Lakewood, Ohio, the third oldest of nine children, Brian P. Cleary grew up reading the bouncy rhymes of Dr. Seuss. A frustrated student and reluctant learner, Brian daydreamed from class to class until being introduced to poetry at about age eight. Intrigued, he set on a course to explore the wonder of words.

He “grew up” in one of the 5 largest creative divisions in the world—American Greetings. He has put words in the mouths of William Shatner and Smokey Robinson, been anthologized with Jack Prelutsky, Kenn Nesbitt, and Lemony Snicket and authored and sold more than 3 million children’s books.

As a humorist, writer, and poet, Brian P. Cleary shows kids how to play with words. He believes that humor is not only a fun way to learn, but an effective way to teach. His best-selling Words Are CATegorical™ series, which introduces young readers to different types of words through rhyming verse and illustrations of comical cartoon cats, has been compared to the likes of Dr. Seuss, while his books of poetry and puns have been honored alongside the works of Roald Dahl and Shel Silverstein. Fondly known as the “word nerd,” Brian lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Contact him for keynote speaking and author visits at baberuth60@aol.com .

Photo of Amanda Nicole Corbin

Amanda Nicole Corbin

Amanda Nicole Corbin is an Ohio-based poet who has had her work published in The Notre Dame Review, The London Magazine, Door is a Jar, and more. Her work was nominated for Best Microfiction 2024. Her debut full-length collection, addiction is a sweet dark room, (Another New Calligraphy, 2024) focuses largely on her journey and struggles with mental health and addiction.…Read More

Amanda Nicole Corbin is an Ohio-based poet who has had her work published in The Notre Dame Review, The London Magazine, Door is a Jar, and more. Her work was nominated for Best Microfiction 2024. Her debut full-length collection, addiction is a sweet dark room, (Another New Calligraphy, 2024) focuses largely on her journey and struggles with mental health and addiction. She is currently working on a full-length manuscript around the topics of bodily autonomy, loss, and early motherhood. Find her on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram at @ancpoet or at http://www.amandanicolecorbin.com

Photo of Signe Damron

Signe Damron

Signe Damron is a poet, short story writer, publisher, speaker, and coach based in Columbus, Ohio. Her commitment to storytelling inspired her to establish her own publishing company, Signe-ture Publishing, where she released her debut book, "French Door to Foyer." In recognition of her work, she was awarded the GCAC Artist Grant in June 2024. In addition to her literary expertise, Signe has spent 20 years working in various business sectors, with a particular focus on the real estate industry.…Read More

Signe Damron is a poet, short story writer, publisher, speaker, and coach based in Columbus, Ohio. Her commitment to storytelling inspired her to establish her own publishing company, Signe-ture Publishing, where she released her debut book, “French Door to Foyer.” In recognition of her work, she was awarded the GCAC Artist Grant in June 2024.

In addition to her literary expertise, Signe has spent 20 years working in various business sectors, with a particular focus on the real estate industry. Throughout her career, she has successfully navigated the complexities of the business world, leveraging her skills to foster growth and innovation.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Signe is deeply committed to community service. For 19 years, she has dedicated her time as a coach and fundraiser for the Columbus Schools Special Olympics. Through her volunteer work, she has played a vital role in empowering athletes, fostering inclusivity, and supporting essential programs that make a difference in the lives of many. Signe’s diverse experiences in both business and volunteer work have allowed her to cultivate meaningful connections and build a strong network of relationships. She continues to use her skills and expertise to inspire others, whether through the written word, business leadership.

Check out her website: https://www.signe-ture.com/

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