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): Juvenile
Keila V. Dawson
Keila V. Dawson is a two-time Ohioana finalist and former educator who writes fiction and nonfiction picture books. Her books have been featured on the numerous best books lists and nominated for various awards. She is a co-editor of No World Too Big: Young People Fighting Global Climate Change, a companion title to the International Reading Association Children’s Book Award-winning title, No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History, and the forthcoming No Brain the Same: Young Neurodivergent Activists Shaping Our Future. She is the author of Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book, The King Cake Baby, and Yumbo Gumbo. A New Orleans native, Dawson has also lived and worked in different states, and abroad in the Philippines, Japan, and Egypt. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Learn more about her at http://www.keiladawson.com, on Twitter @keila_dawson, or Instagram @keilavdawson.
Drew Daywalt
JoAnn Deak
JoAnn Deak, Ph.D., is an author and an international speaker, educator, and preventive psychologist. She also works with parents, teachers, and other adults who work with children as a consultant to schools worldwide on issues of brain development and gender equality. She is also the author of the award-winning book, Your Fantastic Elastic Brain.
Mark M. Dean
Local children’s literature author, Mark M. Dean, has recently released his anticipated children’s book Bedtime for Bigfoot. The first book in a series, this new release adds to Mark’s impressive portfolio. Mark and his family reside on a charming horse farm nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in southeast Ohio. Mark is a versatile author with seven books to his name, spanning children’s literature (Charlie the Catfish, Doggy Deck Day, Fancy Flowers by Faye, and Good Habits Rabbits), short stories (Hands Over Time), and poetry (Poetic Justice). His latest venture, Bedtime For Bigfoot, marks the beginning of an exciting series on the legendary Bigfoot. Dean’s literary excellence has earned him a four-time induction into the Ohioana Book Library and Festival and recognition as a “Readers Favorite Five Star” author. When he’s not crafting compelling stories, Mark can be found tending to his family’s hobby farm, boating on the Ohio River, playing his Irish Tenor Banjo, or practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. All of Dean’s books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine bookstores. For more information or to schedule a book event or interview, please visit http://www.mondaycreekpublishing.com or by mail at:
Monday Creek Publishing
PO Box 399
Buchtel, Ohio 45716
Christina Dendy
Christina Dendy is a children’s book author with a wide range of experience in the K-12 educational market, particularly in history and other social sciences. Her published works include the picture books Hide and Shh! (April 2023) and The Wall and the Wild (September 2021). When not writing and reading, Christina can be found exploring various rabbit holes in Dayton, Ohio, with her husband, three children, and their furry friends. She is represented by Daniel Cramer of Page Turner Literary Agency. Find her online at https://www.christinadendywrites.com/ or follow her on Twitter @cdendy76.
Tracey Dils
Tracey Dils is the author of more than 50 books for young readers in a variety of genres: picture books, middle grade fiction and nonfiction, and biography. Tracey has been awarded multiple awards, including the Parent’s Choice Award and the Ohioana Award in Children’s Literature. She has held a number of high-level editorial positions, including publisher for McGraw-Hill Children’s Publishing, marketing director for Ohio State University Press, and editor-in-chief for Willowisp Press. Tracey has served as an expert writing consultant for various publishing endeavors, including Guideposts for Kids, several elementary and college textbook companies, and as a creative writing specialist for Thurber House.
Dils considers inspiring beginning writers as her most important work. She has taught writing for children at the university level and through correspondence schools across the country. She is a featured speaker at writers’ conferences and workshops. In addition to her work with aspiring adult writers, Dils has taught writing to children in a number of settings and is a frequent guest author in elementary and middle schools.
Tracey graduated from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. She lives with her husband, Richard Herrold, in Columbus, Ohio.
Jane Dippold
A lifelong Ohioan, Jane Dippold is the illustrator of the 2015-16 Choose to Read Ohio picture book choice Farmers Market Day, a story about an enthusiastic (and slightly clumsy) little girl searching for the perfect treat at the market. The watercolor and pencil illustrations for Farmerʼs Market Day set in a colorful, crowded farmers market, were inspired by many visits to historic Findlay Market in Cincinnati where she lived for over 15 years.
From a young age, Jane loved art. Illustrations she saw in Cricket Magazine and the Childcraft series of books in her childhood home, as well as cartoons and newspaper comic strips sparked her interest. Graduating from Miami University with a Fine Arts degree, she worked as an artist for a greeting card company. For the past 20 years, Jane has been illustrating for children’s books, children’s magazines and children’s educational publishing. Living with her husband and three children in Coldwater, Ohio, Jane is currently working on a few children’s stories of her own. In addition, she creates fine art collage paintings of the beautiful farm landscapes that surround her in rural Mercer County. More art and information can be found at her website: janedippold.com
Connie Bergstein Dow
Dance has always been a part of Connie Bergstein Dow’s life. Her parents enrolled her in dance classes when she was four years old, because she was continually falling down and bumping into things. Through dance, she gained strength, confidence, and a voice for self-expression. This introduction led her to a lifelong career.
Connie grew up in Cincinnati, attended Denison University, and earned an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan. She danced professionally in the US, Venezuela, and Guatemala. During her long career as a dance educator, she has taught dance to three-year-olds, to senior adults in wheelchairs, and to students every age in between. She has written two books for teachers about integrating movement into the early childhood classroom, articles for magazines and journals, and verses for Highlights magazines. From A to Z with Energy! is Connie’s first picture book. She continues to share her passion for dance by writing, volunteering, visiting schools and libraries, and offering movement workshops to early childhood professionals. She feels strongly that dance and the other arts are essential and transformational forces in our lives.
Jeffrey Ebbeler
Jeffrey Ebbeler has worked as an art director, book designer, and illustrator. He is a graduate of the Art Academy of Cincinnati. After college he worked for a puppet theater sculpting marionettes and performing. He has since become a full-time freelance illustrator and has illustrated over 40 children’s books, including One Is a Feast for Mouse, Cinco de Mouse O!, Haunted House, Haunted Mouse, and Snow Day for Mouse, all by Judy Cox. He has also written and illustrated A Giant Mess and Kraken Me Up, which was named a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.
Kathy S. Elasky
Kathy S. Elasky is a retired teacher/counselor from Southeast Ohio. She lives on a small farm with her husband, two dogs, several squirrels and the occasional raccoon or possum. Writing children’s books has been her goal from the time her children were little. She started by creating books for her grandchildren. Now she is able to share Pudgy with many others. Besides writing, Kathy loves her family, church activities, nature, reading, and crafting of all sorts. Interacting with people at speaking engagements and book events is one of her newest passions.