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.
Maria Isabella
Maria Isabella, author of the hugely popular new cookbook, In the Kitchen with Cleveland’s Favorite Chefs, is an award-winning freelance writer with more than 30 years’ creative experience in advertising, marketing, and publishing. She possesses a degree in Communication from Cleveland State University and is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the James Beard Foundation, and Les Dames d’Escoffier. Maria is also a cooking instructor and contributes as both a focus group member and recipe tester for Bon Appétit, Zagat, America’s Test Kitchen, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, and General Mills. She is a frequent featured speaker and appears regularly on TV and radio talk shows. Maria is currently working on two new books, both about food, of course. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering at a cooking school with her husband of 35 years, trying out new recipes, and baking with her grandchildren.
Marcus Jackson
Susanne Jaffe
Susanne Jaffe is a former New Yorker who was a long time-editor and executive in publishing. She was the editor-in-chief of Avon Books; senior vice-president of Simon & Schuster; editor-in-chief of a division of Random House. Along the way she edited everything from true crime to historical romance, celebrity fiction, mysteries and thrillers.
In July 2001, Susanne became the executive director and creative director of Thurber House, the nonprofit literary center in Columbus, where she moved to and still lives. She resigned in 2016 to concentrate full-time on her writing.
Susanne had two new novels published in January 2017: La Patrona and Her Mother’s Daughter. Both are available as ebooks, as are four additional novels that were originally traditionally published. For reviews of the two new books, please go to: http://www.amazon/author/susannejaffe.com.
In addition to her writing, Susanne teaches creative writing and is a ‘book doctor’ and editor on a freelance basis.
Susanne considers herself above all a storyteller, someone who wants to engage the reader on a journey with characters they can emotionally relate to.
For more information about Susanne and her books, and to follow her blog, go to: http://www.susannejaffe.com.
Michele Jakubowski
Raised in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Michele Jakubowski has the teachers in her life to thank for her love of reading and writing. While writing has always been a passion for Michele, she believes it is the books she has read throughout the years, and the teachers who assigned them, that have made her the storyteller she is today. Her books include the Sidney & Sydney and Perfectly Poppy series as well as The Sleuths of Somerville and Ashley Small and Ashlee Tall. Michele lives in Powell, Ohio, with her husband, John, and their children, Jack and Mia.
Judy Orr James
Judy James retired in 2016 from the Akron-Summit County Public Library where she was employed for more than 35 years. In 2001, she was hired as manager of the Special Collections Division to create a new department at Main Library devoted to local history and genealogy. She received her Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Kent State University, and is also a graduate of the National Archives Modern Archives Institute. The Special Collections Division maintains one of the most comprehensive genealogy collections in the state of Ohio, along with a growing collection of local history materials, including the archival collections of the Summit County Historical Society. Special Collections also coordinates the Summit Memory Project (http://www.SummitMemory.org), a collaborative, digital “scrapbook” of Summit County history. During her time at the library, Judy collaborated with numerous community and professional organizations including the University of Akron, Summit County Historical Society, Summit County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, Cascade Locks Park Association, and the City of Akron, among others. In 2010 she received the Akron Women’s History Project Woman of the Year Award for Innovation. Judy was born and raised in Akron and is married to Jeff James, a local attorney. They have two grown children.
Regina Jeffers
Regina Jeffers, a public classroom teacher for thirty-nine years, considers herself a Jane Austen enthusiast. She is the author of several Austen-inspired novels, including Darcy’s Passions, Darcy’s Temptation, Vampire Darcy’s Desire, Captain Wentworth’s Persuasion, The Phantom of Pemberley, Christmas at Pemberley, The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy, Honor and Hope, and the upcoming The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy. She also writes Regency romances: The Scandal of Lady Eleanor, A Touch of Velvet, A Touch of Cashemere, A Touch of Grace, and The First Wives’ Club. A Time Warner Star Teacher, Smithsonian presenter, and Martha Holden Jennings Scholar, Jeffers often serves as a consultant in language arts and media literacy. Currently living outside Charlotte, North Carolina, she spends her time with her writing, gardening, and her adorable grandson. Visit her online at http://www.rjeffers.com.
M. C. Jeter
M. C. Jeter is the indie author of The Gems, a new adult fantasy novel. She is set to graduate from the Ohio State University in May 2024 with a BS in Neuroscience and a minor in American Sign Language. For fun, M. C. likes to read, write, dance, sing and play on her Nintendo Switch. As of right now, M. C. has many diverse stories bouncing around in her brain that she is so excited to share with the world. M. C. Jeter began writing her debut novel in fourth grade and as she grew, her main character did too. From starting at 10 years old to ending at 17, Ruby, the main character of The Gems, will take you on an adventure full of love, regret, and challenges.
Jeffrey A. John
Jeffrey Alan John, Ph.D., is an author and freelance writer who experienced journalism as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor and public relations writer before entering a life in academia, which he continues as a Professor Emeritus at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He is the author of Lab Rats Can’t Say No: a story in the future, a science fiction mystery, and co-author with the late Frank L.…
Read MoreJeffrey Alan John, Ph.D., is an author and freelance writer who experienced journalism as a newspaper reporter, magazine editor and public relations writer before entering a life in academia, which he continues as a Professor Emeritus at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He is the author of Lab Rats Can’t Say No: a story in the future, a science fiction mystery, and co-author with the late Frank L. Johnson of A Bird in Your Hand: A story of ambiguous justice, a true-crime tale. Dr. John enjoys tennis, fly fishing and restoration of a decrepit Triumph TR3 sports car in his spare time. He and his wife Karin Avila-John live in Dayton’s Oregon Historic District. Learn more about Dr. John at his website http://www.wordwritesshop.com and visit him on Twitter at @Jeffrey23671313
Angela Johnson
An Ohioana Award-winning writer of novels and poems for children, Angela Johnson is also a three-time winner of the American Library Association’s Coretta Scott King Award, presented annually for “outstanding inspirational and educational works that promote understanding and appreciation of the cultures of all peoples.” Johnson was born in Alabama and grew up in Windham, Ohio. Now a resident of Kent, Ohio, she was the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” in 2003. Visit her website: http://www.ajohnsonauthor.com/.