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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Tom Batiuk
In Tom’s own words: “Okay, here we go, gang, biography lite. I was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1947. After graduating from Kent State University in 1969 with a BFA and a certificate in education, I taught art in Elyria, Ohio at Eastern Heights Jr. High. In 1970, while I was teaching, I began drawing a panel for the teen page of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Those strips led to the creation of Funky Winkerbean in 1972. Funky is syndicated by King Features Syndicate to more than 400 newspapers nationwide. I skipped over a lot of hard work in the middle there, but that’s basically the gist of it for those of you doing term papers. In 1979. I launched John Darling into syndication working with Tom Armstrong, Gerry Shamray, and Bob Vojtko, in that order. Great artists all. John Darling was a talk show host who first saw the light of day in Funky, and who was quite literally killed off when his strip ended. Another character from Funky, Ed Crankshaft, soloed in his own strip in 1987, on which I work with the inimitable and talented Dan Davis.”
S. F. Baumgartner
S.F. Baumgartner is a Christian suspense thriller author. She graduated from the University of Hawaii and the University of Cincinnati. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her cats, staying active, and binge-watching crime TV shows. She lives in Ohio with her family.
Janet Beard
Born and raised in East Tennessee, Janet Beard moved to New York to study screenwriting at NYU and went on to earn an MFA in creative writing from The New School. Her first novel, ‘Beneath the Pines’, was published in 2008, and her follow-up, ‘The Atomic City Girls’ became an international bestseller 2018. Janet’s latest novel, The Ballad of Laurel Springs, was published in October 2021. Janet has lived and worked in Australia, England, Boston, and Columbus, Ohio, where she is currently raising a daughter and working on a new novel.
Carrie Bebris
Carrie Bebris spent her childhood in Toledo before beginning her writing career as a journalist, college English teacher, and editor. After publishing two fantasy novels, she made her mystery debut with Pride and Prescience, which earned a place on the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association bestseller list and was named one of the five best mysteries of the year by Library Journal. Successive books in the series have received starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly and won several awards, including the 2007 Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence in romantic suspense. Bebris holds a master’s degree in English literature and is a life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. She speaks locally and nationally about Austen, writing, and publishing, and is on the faculty of the Antioch Writers Workshop in Yellow Springs. When not writing, Bebris likes to travel and indulge in her love of all things British. She now lives in the Dayton area.
Pam Bennett
Pam Bennett is the State Master Gardener volunteer coordinator for Ohio, and is the Horticulture Educator and Director for Ohio State University Extension in Clark County. She has a degree in landscape horticulture. Bennett lives in Madison, Ohio.
Tadgh Bentley
Tadgh Bentley is a painter, picture book author and illustrator. He is originally from the UK and now lives in Athens, Ohio with his wife, Emily; son, Fionn; and four-legged friend Atticus.
His publishing career began with the release of ‘Little Penguin gets the Hiccups’ in 2015, a story that was written shortly after Tadgh’s move to the US.…
Read MoreTadgh Bentley is a painter, picture book author and illustrator. He is originally from the UK and now lives in Athens, Ohio with his wife, Emily; son, Fionn; and four-legged friend Atticus.
His publishing career began with the release of ‘Little Penguin gets the Hiccups’ in 2015, a story that was written shortly after Tadgh’s move to the US. Tadgh juggled writing and illustrating with a full- and then part-time teaching career, but after fifteen years as an elementary school teacher, he left the profession to pursue creative endeavors full-time.
Tadgh retains a love of education and a passion for the written word. He is eager to share his enthusiasm and to de-mystify the creative process- in particular encouraging young people to see ‘mistakes’ as a valuable part of learning.
Learn more at https://tadghbentley.com/