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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Daniel Kirk
Daniel Kirk is the author and illustrator of fifty books for children, including his best-selling series of Library Mouse books, his non-fiction picture book Rhino in the House, The Big Slide, and his latest picture book series, Newton and Curie, Science Squirrels. Library Mouse is a Booklist Editor’s Choice book, an Education.com Essential gift, a Parenting Magazine Best Mom-Tested Book of the Year, a Kansas Reading Association Award Nominee, a Booksense pick, inner of the NAPPA Gold Award, the 2011 Young Hoosiers award. and a Choose to Read Ohio choice for 2013-2014. Booklist gave Library Mouse a starred review and said: “Put a mouse in a library and you have a sure seller; make the mouse a writer and you have a sure-fire hit…It’s a show stopper. Ready-made to introduce a class to writing activity…this book is fun, fun, fun.”
Newton and Curie, Science Squirrels tells the tale of a young squirrel and his sister, who learn to make simple machines and build a playground that’s just their size. They discover that science is for everyone—even squirrels! Kirkus says: “A positive and fun-filled challenge to recognize and apply the underlying principles of science in everyday life.” Booklist says: “Budding scientists will be delighted by the squirrel’s-eye view of the physical world.” Publisher’s Weekly says: “The story frames plainspoken, relatable explanations of core physics concepts and the scientific method.”
Katrina Kittle
Katrina Kittle’s newest novel, Morning in This Broken World, released September 1, 2023 and was an Amazon First Reads pick for August. Katrina is the author of four other novels for adults—Traveling Light, Two Truths & a Lie, The Kindness of Strangers, and The Blessings of the Animals—and one novel for tweens, Reasons to Be Happy. The Kindness of Strangers was a BookSense pick and was the Fiction winner for the 2006 Great Lakes Book Awards. She teaches creative writing in the Dayton area and online for Word’s Worth Writing Connections, is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Dayton, and is a frequent public speaker. She lives near Dayton with her fella, quirky cat, sweet beagle, and out-of-control garden. For more information on Katrina or her books, or to sign up for her fun, monthly newsletter, visit Katrinakittle.com.
Sophia R. Klein
Sophia Klein wrote her first book, turtle tide, as a gift for her younger brother, Caleb at age 14. She was motivated by her love of marine see life and the hope for a better future for both humans and see life. Her fascination began at the age of seven when she watched the “dolphin tale “movies and learned the inspirational stories of the dolphins, winter and help. She has since journeyed each summer to Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida to attend camps to learn about marine life and aspires to make working On the preservation of marine life partOf her future. Her love of art started is lifelong and she began studying art at four years of age. She has been studying art through community courses at Columbus College of Art and design since age 8 and continues now at age 14. This book is a culmination of her passions for marine life, preservation,storytelling, art and a love for family that she hopes all children will love and be inspired by.
Sophia R. Klein
Sophia Klein wrote her first book, turtle tide, as a gift for her younger brother, Caleb at age 14. She was motivated by her love of marine see life and the hope for a better future for both humans and see life. Her fascination began at the age of seven when she watched the “dolphin tale “movies and learned the inspirational stories of the dolphins, winter and help. She has since journeyed each summer to Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida to attend camps to learn about marine life and aspires to make working On the preservation of marine life partOf her future. Her love of art started is lifelong and she began studying art at four years of age. She has been studying art through community courses at Columbus College of Art and design since age 8 and continues now at age 14. This book is a culmination of her passions for marine life, preservation,storytelling, art and a love for family that she hopes all children will love and be inspired by.
Artie Knapp
Ohio writer Artie Knapp is the author of over 40 published children’s literature works that includes books, videos, stories and poems. His children’s stories have been featured in several course books by HarperCollins, Orient BlackSwan, Oxford University Press, Pearson Education, and The Chart Institute in Japan, among others. Additionally, Artie’s work has been published in various magazines and newspapers, as well as online publications. Among his writing credits are the children’s books Stuttering Stan Takes a Stand and Living Green: A Turtle’s Quest for a Cleaner Planet, a shortlist finalist for the Green Earth Book Award. He is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and graduated from Ohio University. Artie lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife and daughter. To learn more about Artie and his work, visit him online at http://www.artieknapp.com.
Jonathan Knight
Jonathan Knight has written nine books on Cleveland sports. Called “one of the most articulate and devoted sportswriters in Ohio” by the Akron Beacon Journal, Knight has been praised by the Plain Dealer, Cleveland Scene, Cleveland Magazine, and ESPN’s Grantland.com. He’s a graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his two sons. You can learn more at http://www.jknightbooks.com and follow him on Twitter at @jknightwriter.
Mary Knight
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Mary has always enjoyed the power of a good story, whether it’s been as a children’s librarian, a freelance writer or a writer-in-residence teaching kids how to write. Several years ago, she decided to go back to school to learn how to write a novel. After graduating in 2013 from Spalding University’s MFA program in Writing, Mary completed her middle grade novel, SAVING WONDER, found the agent and editor of her dreams, and is now a published author with Scholastic.
Of all the things she appreciates in life, she especially values loving kindness, a good laugh, the wisdom of young people, and the ability to see the world through another person’s eyes. She believes this last quality, empathy, is the key to not only being a good friend and an awesome person, but being a good writer as well. “I must first step into the minds and hearts of my characters to discover their viewpoints,” she says. “Only then can I find the words to create their world.”
Mary and her husband now live in Lexington, Kentucky with their two cats.
Brenda Knight
Ohio native Brenda Knight began her career at HarperCollins, working with luminaries Paolo Coelho, Marianne Williamson, and Huston Smith. Knight was awarded IndieFab’s Publisher of the Year in 2014 at the American Library Association. Knight is the author of Wild Women and Books, The Grateful Table, Be a Good in the World, Random Acts of Kindness, and Women of the Beat Generation, which won an American Book Award. Knight also cocreated You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration and Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving with Nita Sweeney (Depression Hates a Moving Target.) Knight is a poet, writer, and editor. She is currently the Associate Publisher for Mango Publishing; she also served as President of the Women’s National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter, and is an instructor at the annual San Francisco Writers Conference, Central Coast Writers Conference, and wherever she can be with fellow writers. She resides in San Francisco, CA.
Faith (FM) Knight
FAITH (FM) KNIGHT writes middle grade, young adult and new adult fiction. She is a former TV news reporter and digital producer. She is also the cousin of legendary children's book icon Virginia Hamilton. Her debut YA historical novel, As Gray As Black & White, received critical acclaim from Publisher's Weekly's indie arm BookLife.…
Read MoreFAITH (FM) KNIGHT writes middle grade, young adult and new adult fiction. She is a former TV news reporter and digital producer. She is also the cousin of legendary children’s book icon Virginia Hamilton. Her debut YA historical novel, As Gray As Black & White, received critical acclaim from Publisher’s Weekly’s indie arm BookLife.
She enjoys cooking, sewing and Bible education. She is from Yellow Springs, Ohio and now lives in North Carolina with her husband. You can find her books at https://therealknightauthor.com.
