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.
Richard Hawley
Richard Hawley grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois, before attending Middlebury College, where he completed his B.A. in political science. He went on to graduate studies at Case Western Reserve University, where he earned an M.S. in Management Science and a Ph.D. in political philosophy. He also studied theology for a year at St. John’s College, Cambridge University, as an M.A. research student under the tutelage of the theologian W. Norman Pittenger. From 1968 until his retirement in 2005, he was a teacher, administrator, and finally Headmaster at Cleveland’s University School, an independent college preparatory school for boys. In 1995 he was named the founding president of the International Boys Schools Coalition. A writer of fiction, poetry, and literary non-fiction, Hawley has published more than twenty books and several monographs. His essays, articles and poems have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, American Film, Commonweal, America, Orion, and The Christian Science Monitor and is represented in many literary anthologies. Hawley lives with his wife in Ripton, Vermont and is online at http://www.richardalanhawley.com/.
Sherri Hayes
Sherri spent most of her childhood detesting English class. It was one of her least favorite subjects because she never seemed to fit into the standard mold. She wasn’t good at spelling, or following grammar rules, and outlines made her head spin. For that reason, Sherri never imagined becoming an author. At the age of thirty, all of that changed. After getting frustrated with the direction a television show was taking two of its characters, Sherri decided to try her hand at writing an alternate ending, and give the characters their happily ever after. By the time the story finished, it was one of the top ten read stories on the site, and her readers were encouraging her to write more.
Writing has become a creative outlet that allows her to explore a wide range of emotions, while having fun taking her characters through all the twists and turns she can create.
Christine Hayes
Christine Hayes spent her childhood in Columbus restaurants while her father gathered tidbits for his Columbus Citizen-Journal columns. She published a book of these columns, The Ben Hayes Scrapbook. Today Christine assists in the Acorn Bookshop in Grandview, writes a column for the Short North Gazette, and as Ramona Moon makes art cars and collage/assemblage. She graduated from UC Irvine in theatre, taught Montessori school, and lived in San Francisco for 27 years before returning to Columbus.
Wil Haygood
Will Haygood is a former Boston Globe (where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist) and Washington Post reporter. Haygood has received writing fellowships from the Guggenheim, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Alicia Patterson Foundations. His biographies of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Sammy Davis Jr., Sugar Ray Robinson, and Thurgood Marshall have been widely acclaimed. Haygood also wrote the New York Times bestseller, The Butler: A Witness to History, which was adapted into an award-winning movie. Haygood is currently serving an appointment as Boadway Visiting Distinguished Scholar at his alma mater, Miami University, Ohio.
William Heath
William Heath was born in Youngstown, grew up in Poland, Ohio, with a BA from Hiram College and a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University. He has taught American literature and creative writing at Kenyon, Transylvania, Vassar, the University of Seville, and Mt. St. Mary’s University, where the William Heath Award is given annually to the best student writer. He is the author of three novels: The Children Bob Moses Led (winner of the Hackney Literary Award), Blacksnake’s Path, and Devil Dancer, three poetry books: The Walking Man, Steel Valley Elegy, and Going Places, two chapbooks: Night Moves in Ohio and Leaving Seville, a work of history: William Wells and the Struggle for the Old Northwest (winner of two Spur Awards), and a collection of interviews: Conversations with Robert Stone. He can be found online at http://www.williamheathbooks.com
John Hegenberger
Award-winning author, John Hegenberger has produced more than a dozen books since mid-2015, including several popular series: Stan Wade LAPI in 1959, Eliot Cross Columbus-based PI in 1988, and TRIPLEYE, featuring the first private eye agency on Mars. He’s the father of three, tennis enthusiast, collector of silent films, hiker, Francophile, B.A. Comparative Lit., ex-Navy, and happily married for 48 years and counting. Active member of SFWA, PWA, SinC and ITW. His novel SPYFALL won a 2016 award at Killer Nashville.
Susan Gee Heino
Susan Gee Heino has been writing romance novels for over fifteen years. She has published with major New York houses as well as independently. Her career began in Historical Romance, and she has also written several contemporary titles for the Love Inspired imprint. Currently she is writing for Harlequin Suspense. Ms. Heino has two adult children and lives in rural Ohio with her pastor husband, two pampered dogs, several demanding cats, and a barnyard full of free-loading poultry who are more popular on social media than she is. She loves to get to know her readers and invites everyone to connect with her on Facebook or at http://www.SusanGH.com
Nancy Herriman
Nancy Herriman has fronted a cover band, acted on stage, and worked in the tech industry as an engineer. Writing is her current and longest lasting passion. She has won the Daphne du Maurier award, and Publishers Weekly says her A Mystery of Old San Francisco series “…brings 1867 San Francisco to vivid life.” Her latest release is No Rest For The Departed. When not writing, she enjoys singing, gabbing about writing, and eating dark chocolate. Learn more at: https://www.nancyherriman.com/
Victor Hess
Victor Hess’ first novel, Jesse Sings was acknowledged as a finalist in the William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing competition in 2015. It was also recognized as an Award-Winning Finalist in the Fiction: Inspirational category of the 2018 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest. His short stories have received Honorable Mention in a recent Glimmer Train competition and one made the short list for the 2017 Faulkner competition. He is currently working on a third novel centered around Jesse Hall, the main character of his first two novels. Besides a successful businessman he has been an Army Bomb Disposal Instructor, and, for decades, has taught Bible Study for both children and adults. He was raised in Ohio, attended college at Central State and Ohio University. He lives in Slidell, Louisiana with his wife and dog.
Anita M. Hessenauer
Anita M. Hessenauer is a freelance writer residing in Dublin, Ohio. She is a prolific author of both poetry and prose and has published articles in literary and religious periodicals. Her collection of poems, Authenticity was published in 2019, followed by her second poetry collection, We All Belong in 2021. Anita’s third poetry collection, Let Go was published in June 2023. Anita has a doctorate in French Literature from the University of Strasbourg, France and has taught at The Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, and Bowling Green State University. She is a fully professed Third-Order Carmelite. Anita’s poetry celebrates the inherent dignity of the human person, the sanctity of human life and the intrinsic value and worth of our natural world. Her poems challenge the reader to cast aside all preconceptions, prejudices, egotism, and a divisive mentality that prevents us from working for the good of the human person and of our created world. Anita’s books are available on Amazon and where books are sold. Learn more: https://anitamhessenauer.com/