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): Fiction
Marilyn Sadler
In 1983, Marilyn Sadler created the Alistair series of children’s books for Hamish Hamilton in London, England and for Simon & Schuster in the United States. The books have been featured throughout the years in Cricket Magazine and the Book-of-the-Month Club.
Shortly thereafter, the P.J. Funnybunny collection of children’s books was published under the Dr. Seuss Beginner Books logo for Random House. “It’s Not Easy Being a Bunny” received an International Classroom Choice Award its first year. Since that time, fifteen books have been added to the series.
Marilyn has also had a variety of other characters and series published with Western Publishing and Troll Publishing
Marilyn’s television credits include two PBS Reading Rainbow programs featuring Alistair, an Alistair program for the BBC, three ABC Weekend Specials featuring P.J. Funnybunny, and a show based on her children’s book, Elizabeth and Larry, for Showtime’s Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories.
Between 1999 and 2004, The Disney Channel produced three Original Movies based on Marilyn’s book, Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century. Each of Disney’s Zenon movies had exceptionally high ratings, with Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century and Zenon the Zequel among the highest rated shows in the history of The Disney Channel. According to Nielsen Media Research, the Zenon movies reached an audience of more than 10 million viewers.
In 2004, Playhouse Disney began production on Marilyn’s animated series, Handy Manny. Handy Manny premiered September 16, 2006, as the highest rated Playhouse Disney series premiere of all time. Since its debut, Handy Manny averages approximately 2 million viewers a week, has generated consistent critical acclaim and developed a deeply loyal audience.
In 2009, Marilyn was nominated for an Emmy Award as Executive Producer of Handy Manny in the category of “Outstanding Special Class Animated Program”.
In 2015, Harper Collins Publishers released the first of a series of math-based detective stories featuring Charlie Piechart by Eric Comstock and Marilyn. Titles include, “The Missing Pizza Slice”, “The Missing Hat” and “The Missing Dog”.
Visit Marilyn at: marilynsadler.net
Yolonda Tonette Sanders
Ohio native Yolonda Tonette Sanders is an Essence magazine bestselling author with six novels to her credit, including Shadow of Death. She is also the founder and CEO of Yo Productions, LLC, a theatrical entertainment and literary services company that expanded its repertoire in 2015 to include publishing. A graduate of Capital University and later The Ohio State University, Yolonda once worked for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office until she quit in 2004 to focus more on writing. It’s a move that she has never regretted. As a writer, Yolonda enjoys the challenge of developing and completing projects that interest and inspire readers. As a speaker, she has been invited to address audiences across the country regarding various topics and appreciates the opportunities she has to connect with people from all walks of life. As a business owner, Yolonda seeks to help other writers develop and perfect their works. In addition to writing, Yolonda likes watching movies, exercising, and spending time with her family. Her favorite people on earth are her husband, David, and her two teenage children, Tre and Tia.
Gregg Sapp
Gregg Sapp is a Pinnacle Award winning the author of the Holidazed series of cultural satires, each of which is centered around a different holiday. To date, there are seven books in the series, beginning with The Christmas Donut Revolution to the most recent, Mother Fracking Earth Day. Previous books include his dollar store epic, Dollarapalooza (Switchgrass Books, 2011), and Fresh News Straight from Heaven which is based on the folklore of Johnny Appleseed (Evolved 2018). He also writes essays, humor, poetry and short fiction that has appeared in literary journals far and wide. A native Ohioan, Gregg now writes full time and lives in Tumwater, WA. For more, see sappgregg.net
Patricia Sargeant
Patricia Sargeant is a national best-selling author. She writes romance as Patricia Sargeant and Regina Hart, and mysteries as Olivia Matthews. Her work has been reviewed in national publications such as Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Kirkus Reviews, Suspense Magazine, Mystery Scene Magazine, Library Journal and BookRiot. Patricia was drawn to write romance because she believes love is the greatest motivation. Her mysteries put ordinary people in extraordinary situations to have them find “the hero inside.” For more information about Patricia and her work, visit PatriciaSargeant.com
Ashish K. Saxena
Ashish K. Saxena is a published academic researcher, and sci-fi writer whose work in each of these areas revolves around the efficient and ethical use of artificial intelligence. He strives to explore the crossroads of technology and the humanities, underscoring how social structures and interactions evolve alongside scientific innovation.
In his fictional science book series, “Ava’s New World: A Dystopian Sci-Fi Odyssey,” Ashish opens the door to a world where technology and society navigate uncharted territories. Readers are drawn into futuristic scenarios where AI and humanity coexist, collide, and redefine the boundaries of existence.
Ava’s New World is only the first phase of a saga that will extend from the depths of artificial minds to the farthest reaches of the universe.
John Scalzi
John Scalzi has written nearly all of his science fiction from a home office in Bradford, Ohio, where he can look out the window and see Amish buggies clopping by. His first published novel, 2005’s “Old Man’s War,” was a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and helped him win the John W. Campbell/Astounding Award for Best New Writer. Scalzi would go on to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2013 for his New York Times bestselling novel Redshirts. His most recent novel, The Kaiju Preservation Society, is a 2023 Alex Award recipient and currently optioned for television. Scalzi also writes for the Emmy Award-winning television series Love Death + Robots, where Ohio features prominently in his episode “When the Yogurt Took Over.” In 2016, Scalzi’s work earned him the Governor’s Award for Arts in Ohio. https://whatever.scalzi.com/
J.H. Schiller
J. H. Schiller writes speculative fiction with a flair for the weird and a healthy dose of the absurd. She earned a graduate degree in international affairs and worked for the federal government in Washington, DC. She has since escaped to Ohio, where she is the founder and President of Dublin Creative Writers, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides education and community for authors in Ohio and beyond. Her short fiction has been featured in several anthologies and digital publications. The first two volumes in her Comedy of Horrors series, The Witch of Tophet County and Playing with Fire, are available now from Podium Publishing. She is a member of the SFWA.
E.F Schraeder
Author of As Fast as She Can (Sirens Call Publications, 2022) and Liar: Memoir of a Haunting (Omnium Gatherum, 2021), which was an Imadjinn Award finalist (2022), E.F. Schraeder is also the author of a story collection and two poetry chapbooks. Recent work has appeared in Lost Contact, Moonflowers & Nightshade, Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, and other journals and anthologies. Schraeder’s nonfiction has appeared in Vastarien: A Literary Journal; Radical Teacher; the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom blog, and elsewhere. Awarded first place in Crystal Lake Publishing’s 2021 Poetry Contest, E.F. Schraeder’s work also placed as a semi-finalist in Headmistress Press’ Charlotte Mew Contest (2019). An Active Member in the Horror Writers Association, E. F. Schraeder believes in ghosts, magic, and dogs. Learn more at: https://efschraeder.com/
Michaela Schuett
Most days, Michaela Schuett can be found somewhere in Ohio counting sunny days, giggles and jelly beans — usually with a sketchbook in hand.
Other days, she is in front of her computer designing and drawing amazing things for amazing people.
With a degree in journalism from Iowa State University, Michaela worked for many years as a writer, designer, copy editor, and illustrator for various newspapers and magazines. Most recently, she worked as the interim Art Director for Dispatch Magazines (2013) and was responsible for the monthly design of Columbus Monthly and its various special publications.
After nearly 13 years working full-time (2001-2013), she is now a freelance designer and illustrator.
Whether she’s working in corporate communications, editorial design, picture books, or small business—everything she does comes from the heart—with a passion for making complex information easy to understand.
Salvatore Scibona
Salvatore Scibona’s most recent novel, The Volunteer, was called “a masterpiece” by the New York Times. His first novel, The End, was a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Young Lions Fiction Award. His work has won a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, an O. Henry Award, and a Whiting Award; and The New Yorker named him one of its “20 under 40” fiction writers. He directs the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library.