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.
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Deseree Liddell
Deseree Mitchell Liddell was born on October 15, 1925, in Lexington, Mississippi, and grew up under some of the nation’s harshest Jim Crow laws.
In 1951, she and her husband moved to Ravenna, Ohio, becoming residents of Skeels Allotment, one of the local designated-Black areas. There she fought to get basic living conditions such as water and sewer, natural gas lines, and streetlights for her community. She was also instrumental in getting African American teachers and administrators in the Ravenna School System.
She taught school in both Mississippi and Ohio, and in the 1960s, she started a youth group and a senior citizens club in her home. Her goal was to promote community pride, self-awareness, and social, economic, and educational awareness within the African American communities.
Mrs. Liddell was instrumental in getting a community center for the Skeels neighborhood and was the center’s first director. At age 97, she is still active in events at the center.
In 1991, a group of community residents founded the Deseree Liddell Minority Scholarship Fund in her honor. The proceeds of her memoir go to this fund and are awarded to high school seniors to help further their education.
Learn more: https://theportager.com/ravenna-author-shares-her-life-story-from-the-jim-crow-south-to-northern-ohio/
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Collaborator Mary Louise Ruehr was born in Ravenna, Ohio. A graduate of Kent State University, she has spent her career in communications. For 12 years she was a writer and editor at the Record-Courier, the daily newspaper covering Portage County. There she wrote a popular column, “One for the Books,” featuring book reviews and reading-related topics. The column is now featured in ThePortager.com, an online news source.
Theresa Liggins
Theresa E. Liggins has been writing and publishing her works of fiction since 2000 when, of all things, her ballroom dance training became the inspiration of her first two novels, Life is But a Dream and Dance Me to the End of Love. From that point, she knew she had been bitten by the writing bug. Nine novels later, she wrote, You Danced On My Dreams – Beyond the Ballroom to cement the dramatic series; and was further inspired to write her tenth novel, Sis Loyalty, to bring the story full circle. In addition to several new books, Liggins went on to breathe new life into several of her earlier projects including, The Escort Series, as well as, Under the Purple Moon and its sequel, Under the Cover of Darkness.
Although born, raised, and currently lives in Columbus, Ohio, along her journeys, Ms. Liggins has fondly called Northern California and Chicago, Illinois home. Her love for writing and photography keeps her exploring and following her dreams. She has met some interesting characters along the way— some of whom have even inspired the colorful and beloved characters in her novels. Never short of relatable life experiences, wherever her journey takes her, you will find her conjuring up her next compelling page-turners.
Among her many passions is financial literacy. She enjoys educating and empowering consumers with facts on how to raise their credit score. Theresa, also known as The Ultimate Credit Warrior, has spent a decade analyzing and researching credit scoring and has been inducted into the Elusive 850 Club, which consists of only 1.2% of all FICO scores.
To learn more about Theresa E. Liggins and her books, visit http://www.romanticreations.com or follow her on social media.
Julie Anne Lindsey
Julie Anne Lindsey is an award-winning and bestselling author of mystery and romantic suspense. She’s published more than fifty novels since her debut in 2013 and currently writes series as herself, as well as under multiple pen names, for Harlequin, Kensington, Sourcebooks and Crooked Lane Books. When Julie’s not creating new worlds or fostering the epic love of fictional characters, she can be found in Kent, Ohio, plotting murder with her shamelessly enabling friends. Today she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world. Learn more about Julie at julieannelindsey.com
Jacqueline Lipton
Jacqueline Lipton is an attorney, law professor and literary agent/consultant whose work focuses on privacy, business, and legal issues in the digital age. She teaches on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and is a Senior Agent at the Tobias Literary Agency. Learn more at: https://jlipton.com/
Laurie Loewenstein
Death of a Rainmaker (Akashic Books 2018) is Laurie Loewenstein’s second published novel and her first mystery. Death of a Rainmaker was called a “superb series launch” from Publishers Weekly which gave it a starred review and named it a Pick of the Week.
She has a BA and MA in history. Loewenstein was a reporter, feature and obituary writer for several small daily newspapers. In her fifties, she returned to college for a MA in Creative Writing.
Loewenstein is a fifth generation Ohio native. She now lives in Columbia, MD.
Kylie Logan
Kylie Logan is the author of the bestselling League of Literary Ladies mysteries. The series premiered with Mayhem at the Orient Express and book #4, And Then There Were Nuns, was released in March of 2015. The books follow the adventures of a court-ordered book club on South Bass Island. Kylie’s newest series is the Ethnic Eats mysteries, set in Hubbard, Ohio. The first book about a chef at a down-on-its-luck restaurant who decides to feature ethnic foods is Irish Stewed. Kylie also writes the popular Pepper Martin series as Casey Daniels.
Gene Logsdon
Gene Logsdon, a self-described “contrary farmer,” is the author of more than two dozen books, both fiction and nonfiction, and is one of America’s most influential writers on sustainable pastoral farming. Logdson won the 2000 Ohioana Career Award. His most recent book is Gene Everlasting: A Contrary Farmer’s Thoughts on Living Forever.…
Read MoreGene Logsdon, a self-described “contrary farmer,” is the author of more than two dozen books, both fiction and nonfiction, and is one of America’s most influential writers on sustainable pastoral farming. Logdson won the 2000 Ohioana Career Award. His most recent book is Gene Everlasting: A Contrary Farmer’s Thoughts on Living Forever. (Photo by Ben Barnes)
Loren Long
Loren Long is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling picture books Otis, Otis and the Tornado, Otis and the Puppy, An Otis Christmas, Otis and the Scarecrow and Otis and the Kittens. He is the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of President Barack Obama’s picture book Of Thee I Sing, Matt de la Pena’s Love, the re-illustrated edition of The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper, and Mr. Peabody’s Apples by Madonna. Loren’s new edition of Clement C. Moore’s The Night Before Christmas is a modern, more inclusive take on the classic. His most recent works are Someone Builds the Dream by Lisa Wheeler and the much anticipated picture book, Change Sings written by Inaugural Poet Amanda Gorman. The Otis series has been developed as an animated television series, Get Rolling With Otis, on Apple TV, which Loren Executive Produced. To learn more, please visit LorenLong.com, @lorenlong or @thelorenlong on IG.
Visit his website at: https://lorenlong.com/
Kathryn Long
Kathryn Long, also writing as Bailee Abbott, is a retired school teacher who turned to authoring traditional mystery, cozy mystery, romantic suspense, and contemporary romance, a career which fits her mostly introverted personality perfectly. She has penned sixteen novels to date. Her passion for old Hollywood, classic movies, and Cary Grant is evident in her latest series, the Sierra Pines B&B cozy mysteries. As for her alter ego, Bailee Abbott loves to attend paint party venues and travel to Bemus Point, NY whenever she can. Both activities inspired her to write the Paint by Murder mystery series. When taking a break from writing mystery, this author devours mystery novels and watches her favorite crime shows. Kathryn lives in Green, Ohio with her husband and furry friend, Max. https://kathrynlongauthor.com/
Scott Longert
Scott Longert is a graduate of the Ohio State University and has his M.A. in American History from Cleveland State with an emphasis on the post-Civil Wars years to the Great Depression.
Scott is a retired Park Ranger from the James A. Garfield National Historic Site where he specialized in Civil War talks concerning General Garfield and major battles of the war.
Scott has been writing about Cleveland baseball history for over thirty years and has five books published to date, his latest Cy Young: An American Baseball Hero released in June 2020.
A sixth book, Victory on Two Fronts is due for an early winter 2022 release.
Scott has taught part-time at Cuyahoga Community College, offering courses in several aspects of Cleveland baseball history. He lectures regularly at local libraries and community groups. Scott was recently interviewed for the upcoming documentary, War on the Diamond, a study of the rivalry between the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees.