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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John Thorndike
John Thorndike grew up in New England, graduated from Harvard, took an MA from Columbia, then lit out for Latin America. He spent two years in the Peace Corps in El Salvador and two, with his wife and child, on a backcountry farm in Chile. Eventually he settled with his son in Athens, Ohio, where for ten years his day job was farming. Then it was construction. His first two books were novels, followed by a memoir, Another Way Home, about his wife’s schizophrenia and his life as a single parent (“The directness, the honesty, the terrible plain chant of the narrative stunned me.”—Doris Grumbach.) A second memoir, The Last of His Mind, describes his father’s year-long descent into Alzheimer’s, and was a Washington Post Best Book of 2009. The novel A Hundred Fires in Cuba follows an affair between a young American photographer and one of the heroes of the Cuban Revolution, Camilo Cienfuegos. The World Against Her Skin, Thorndike’s latest book, is a half-fictional evocation of his mother’s life.
Melanie Tienter
Melanie Tienter
is a commercial photographer based in southeast Ohio.
She enjoys oil painting, hanging with her family and her cats, and eating delicious
food.
Rich J. Tilley
Rich J Tilley is a creative writer and accomplished author who likes to write about the trials and triumphs of life. He currently lives in Columbus, Ohio. Visit his website at https://www.mybooksandvids.com
His latest book is an easy-to-read, humble guide littered with easy-to-implement, sound advice, intricate word-play, and clever, tongue-in-cheeky humor, complimented with crafty illustrations by the immensely talented animator, Zachary D. Tilley.
MaryBeth Tipton
MaryBeth Tipton, owner of Yoga Living LLC, is a yoga teacher, empowerment coach, and inspirational author, holding esteemed yoga certifications (E-RYT 500 and YACEP). With a profound dedication to personal growth and healing, MaryBeth integrates the transformative practices of yoga and self-inquiry into her teachings, writing, and public speaking. Her book, Journey to Joy: From Surviving to Thriving – An Inspirational Memoir of Overcoming Loss and a Survivor’s Guide to Healing and Happiness, is a deeply personal exploration of resilience and empowerment. MaryBeth’s life has been a journey through pain, abuse, and gut-wrenching loss, ranging from the devastating loss of her stepson and other family members, to the abandonment of her children’s father. These experiences, however, have been her greatest teachers, shaping her into a compassionate guide for those seeking healing and joy. MaryBeth’s narrative style is a blend of moving personal stories, insightful lessons, and practical strategies aimed at empowering readers to navigate life’s adversities with grace. Her work stands as a beacon of hope for those looking to overcome grief, rediscover joy, and embrace a fulfilling life. Her book not only offers a roadmap to personal healing but also inspires a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, teaching that our darkest moments can lead to our greatest growth. Residing between her homes in Ohio and Florida, MaryBeth enjoys creating quality experiences with family and friends, traveling, and has a passion for being on, in, and near the water. Her commitment to personal growth and resilience is evident in her multifaceted career and life, making her a powerful voice, an inspiration to many and magnet for joy and enthusiasm.
Ann Townsend
Ann Townsend is the author of Dime Store Erotics (Silverfish Review Press, 1998) and The Coronary Garden (Sarabande Books, 2005). She is an editor, with David Baker, of a collection of essays, Radiant Lyre: Essays on Lyric Poetry (Graywolf Press, 2007), and is currently at work on a collection of essays on poetry, translation, and the natural world. Her poetry and essays have appeared in such magazines as Poetry, Paris Review, The Nation, Kenyon Review, and many others. The recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council, she has also received fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the MacDowell Colony, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Bernheim Arboretum, and the Lannan Foundation. She is the cofounder of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts. In 2016 she, along with cofounders Cate Marvin and Erin Belieu, accepted the Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award, given in recognition of their work for the larger literary community. A professor of English and Director of Creative Writing at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, Ann Townsend hybridizes modern daylilies at Bittersweet Farm.
Scott Tracey
Scott Tracey lives just outside of Cleveland in Sheffield, Ohio. He is the author of Moonset and the Witch Eyes trilogy with Flux.
Read MoreScott Tracey lives just outside of Cleveland in Sheffield, Ohio. He is the author of Moonset and the Witch Eyes trilogy with Flux.
Lynn Tramonte
Lynn Tramonte move words like fingers move crochet thread. Loop, hook, pull. Tension and slack, creating something new, useful-and beautiful-from simple string. After twenty years working for national immigration advocacy organizations, Tramonte launched a communications consulting practice, Anacaona. Anacaona helps clients tell stories that compel people to see and feel our shared humanity, and act to make social change. Anacaona specializes in advocacy communications strategy and planning; editing and writing; coaching and training in writing, media relations, and narrative. Tramonte also directs the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, and serves on the boards of Justice Action Center and Babel Box Theatre-claiming her progressive values, midwestern roots, and the power of art as pleasure, connector, and teacher. Tramonte’s work has appeared in publications as diverse as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Univision, The Guardian, The Columbus Dispatch, and Ideastream Public Media. She is a 2018 Marshall Memorial Fellow with the German Marshall Fund.
Connie Remlinger Trounstine
Connie Remlinger Trounstine grew up in Delphos, Ohio and is a graduate of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. She worked as an editorial assistant for Writer’s Market in Cincinnati until joining The Kentucky Post, a Scripps Howard newspaper, where she was a reporter for 29 years. She is the author of the children’s chapter book The Worst Christmas Ever and Fingerprints on the Table, a picture book about a table in the White House used to sign peace treaties. Her book The Phantom Five is a book for middle-grade students about life at home during World War II. She lives in Cincinnati.
Paula Stone Tucker
Paula Stone Tucker was a witness to the May 4, 1970 shootings at Kent State University. A retired clinical psychologist, she worked with families, couples, and survivors of trauma and abuse. In her younger days she was a reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal and the Daily Kent Stater. She grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and graduated from Kent State University. She splits her time between northeast Ohio and The Villages, Florida where she writes, plays the flute and is learning to play golf. Her first book, Surviving: A Kent State Memoir, won the Silver Medal at the Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Award Competition in 2019. She is available for interviews. You can contact her at paulastonetucker.com or on Facebook at Paula Stone Tucker, Author. She looks forward to hearing from you and reading your reviews.