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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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

Mike Williams

Mike Williams has used five decades of experience to help individuals, companies and organizations strategize, succeed, and grow, according to their unique vision. After working in media, marketing, and professional development, he founded Mike Williams Solutions in 1981. Mike is a marketer with a broad, unique reach. In fall, 2021 Mike published his second book, The Road to Your Best Stuff 2.0, outlining his unique approach to achievement.…Read More

In fall, 2021 Mike published his second book, The Road to Your Best Stuff 2.0, outlining his unique approach to achievement. The book focuses on guiding the reader through an in-depth process of choosing, entering and rising in their chosen fields.

Over the years, Mike and his company have developed unique processes to carefully assess, strategize and deliver for a variety of clients and situations. His clients have included business owners, public and non-profit leaders, public speakers, medical professionals and freelancing, high achievers, always helping to break new ground.

Mike is best known for his work with motivational speaker Les Brown. Les attributes his success to Mike’s role as the “mentor” and strategist who helped him launch and grow his speaking business to international prominence, reaching its first million-dollar-year in 5 years. Mike became Les’ big-picture business strategist in the ‘80s and continues today.

In 2008, Mike wrote and published his first book, The Road to Your Best Stuff. Mike’s new book, the 2.0 version, is an updated and more in-depth version of the initial book. So now, The Road to Your Best Stuff 2.0, allows fresh perspective and a deep dive into Mike’s insights and experience, developing the skill set and mindset for achievement.

In recent years, Mike’s role in coaching, which began in the 80s, has taken on a major focus, with clients around the US and internationally. The coaching role takes the focus from organizations to key individuals, either within organizations, or freelancing in ventures of many kinds.

Mike Williams brings more than 50 years of experience and insights, grounded in media, marketing, personal/career development and organizational effectiveness to each situation. Mike uses his know-how to guide clients through a broad range of challenges, helping them perform and/or achieve at their highest levels.

Learn more at https://www.mikewilliamssolutions.com/self-coaching.html

James A. Willis

Not since the Headless Horseman went charging through Sleepy Hollow has something come out of the Hudson highlands of upstate New York as thrilling and chilling as author and paranormal researcher James A. Willis. Fueled by a steady diet of Boo Berry cereal, Creepy Magazine and late-night Vincent Price movies, Willis soon developed a taste for the unexplained and quickly began seeking out all things strange and spooky.…Read More

When he wasn’t trying to coax the boogeyman out from under his bed for a photo shoot, Willis pondered such eternal questions as what happens to us when we die, is there life on other planets, and what possesses someone to decorate their house with 1,001 milk jugs?

In 1999, after spending more than fifteen years chasing after ghosts and visiting crybaby bridges, Willis moved to Ohio and founded The Ghosts of Ohio (ghostsofohio.org), a nationally recognized paranormal research organization. Willis has grown the organization to well over 35 members in three divisions throughout the state: Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.

In 2004, in what seemed to be destiny, Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman, the brains behind the Weird U.S. series of books, approached Willis and asked him to contribute to their latest volume. To date, Willis has been involved with six books in the Weird U.S. series. He is the co-author of Weird Ohio (2005) and Weird Indiana (2008) and was also a contributing author to Weird U.S. (2004), Weird Hauntings (2006), Weird US II: The ODDyssey Continues (2008), and Weird Encounters (2010). Willis’ unique and offbeat writing style was officially recognized in 2006 with his induction into the Grand Order of Weird Writers.

In addition, Willis has been a contributing author to several books in the Armchair Reader series, beginning with Weird, Scary & Unusual (2008) and continuing with several books released in 2010: Armchair Reader Goes Hollywood, Armchair Reader’s All about Ohio, and The Mammoth Armchair Reader. 2011 marked the release of Willis’ latest collaboration with Armchair Reader, Haunted America. For 2012, Willis released Haunted Indiana, his first work with Stackpole Books. In the fall of 2012, Willis’ The Big Book Of Ohio Ghost Stories was unleashed. Willis’ latest book, Ohio’s Historic Haunts, was released in late summer of 2015.

A sought-after public speaker, Willis has given presentations throughout the United States, during which he has educated and entertained tens of thousands of people of all ages in crowd sizes ranging from 10 to well over 600. He has also been featured in more than 50 media sources, including CNN, USA Today, Columbus Business First, Midwest Living, The Canadian Press, and even the Kuwait Times. He is also currently a contributing author to Mysteries Magazine.

Willis currently resides in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and daughter, a Queen-loving parrot, and two narcoleptic cats. Visit him online at http://www.strangeandspookyworld.com.

Misty Wilson

Retired 7th-grade football star Misty Wilson received her M.A.T. from Kent State University and currently teaches fourth grade. Her students, especially those struggling with their identity and where they fit in, inspired Misty to share her own story. Learn more about her book Play Like A Girl illustrated by David Wilson at www.mistywilsonwrites.com.Read More

David Wilson

David Wilson assumes many roles—illustrator, designer, writer, and filmmaker. For work or speaking inquiries please contact: David@workdavidwork.com PROJECTS
TBA Graphic Novel - HarperCollins, 2024
Great Lakes Tarot Deck - Belt Publishing, 2022
Play Like A Girl Graphic Novel - HarperCollins Sept. 2022
The Everyday Web Comic Collection - Belt Publishing 2020
The Disposal of Dead Ned Feature Film (Winner, Best Dark Comedy - Poor Life Choices Film Fest)
Rust Belt Arcana - Belt Publishing 2018 SOCIAL
Instagram: @downpourdw
Twitter: @downpourdw
Vimeo: vimeo.com/davidjohnwilson
Spam Newsletter: tinyletter.com/DavidWilson Check out his website: https://www.workdavidwork.com/Read More

Stacy Windahl

Stacy Windahl, Kenyon College graduate with an MBA is a wife, mother, MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) mentor and freelance writer. For 16 years, she has worked with Young Life Communications. She writes from her home along the Lake Erie shore where she and her family celebrate all things Cleveland. Stacy and Jody share a love of Young Life, pixie dust and fairy tales.…Read More

Eric Wittenberg

Eric J. Wittenberg is a lifelong Philadelphia Phillies fan and native of southeastern Pennsylvania. Having grown up in the early 1970s, he understands losing baseball teams. He is a lawyer in private practice and an award-winning Civil War historian. He and his wife Susan reside in Columbus, Ohio, where he struggles to follow his beloved Phillies.Read More

Lucy S. Wolfe

Lucy S. Wolfe is a lifelong resident of Columbus, a realtor, and a member of the board of trustees of the Columbus Historical Society.Read More

Teresa Woodard

Teresa Woodard wrote the new garden book, "American Roots." She also is contributing garden editor at Midwest Living, where she covers everything from houseplants and bonsai to daffodils and peonies. A lifelong Ohioan (except for her college days studying journalism at Indiana University), she gardens on 2 acres outside Columbus. She also teaches youth about growing food at Highland Youth Garden in Columbus and serves as an advisor with America in Bloom.…Read More

Donte Woods-Spikes

Donte Woods-Spikes began working with youth in the Near Eastside of Columbus Ohio in 2011. His first youth project, A Talk With Our Sons consisted of youtube video interviews with young Black male youth and life experiences within the city. As the project gained recognition, Woods-Spikes was selected to give a TEDxColumbus Talk titled Young Black Men Not Left Out Again.…Read More

Tony Wright

Tony Wright is the author of Things Aren’t Right: The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five. He's also the author of four comic books and a graphic novel. Tony is an archivist, father, husband, and a lost soul of rock and roll. When he is not writing, he is spending time with his family or enjoying a trip to the library.…Read More

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