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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Margie Shaheed
Margie Shaheed is a community poet, writer and teaching artist. She is the author of three chapbooks, Mosaic, Onomonopoeia, and Playground. She is currently completing a non-fiction book, Tongue Shakers: Interviews and Narratives on Speaking Mother Tongue in a Multicultural Society.
Janet Shailer
From Janet: “I was born & raised in Grove City, Ohio, and graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1971 with a degree in Radio/TV/Film and a minor in journalism. Early in my career I worked as a broadcast engineer for two NBC-affiliated TV stations and Warner Cable’s Qube cable TV network. I was a contributing editor of Television Broadcast magazine and later editor of the Southwest Messenger newspaper in Columbus. I am the author of three non-fiction history books and one historical fiction/murder mystery that takes place in Steubenville, OH.”
Prince Shakur
Prince Shakur is a queer, Jamaican-American freelance journalist, cultural essayist, and grassroots organizer with a BA in Creative Writing from Ohio University. His words have been featured in Teen Vogue, Catapult, Level, Electric Lit, and more. In addition, Shakur is the proud writer in residence at Sangam House, Twelve Arts, The Studios of Key West, and La Maison Baldwin. Learn more: https://www.princeshakur.com/
Mike Shannon
Mike Shannon is the author of more than 20 baseball books and the editor and publisher of Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine. He has written a monthly column for Reds Report for more than 20 years.
Patricia Ann Shaw
Patricia Ann Shaw is a full-time travel agent born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. Although travel is her passion, she’s always had a dream to publish a children’s book but could never decide on a topic. In December, 2022, the Shaw’s adopted a cute little Cavapoo doggy named Wally. From that point on, Wally provided plenty of material for a story that just had to be told about his silly antics. In April 2024, her first book Wild Wally was published by Sunsational Publishers, Inc. Patricia’s plan is to publish more books about Wild Wally. The next book idea is to link her travel passion with the crazy antics of Wild Wally. Maybe Wild Wally Goes On Vacation?
Hugh Sheehy
Hugh Sheehy is a lecturer at Yeshiva College and has previously taught at Kennesaw State University and Georgia State University. Sheehy received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Alabama. His stories have appeared in publications including Glimmer Train, Kenyon Review, and Best American Mystery Stories. (Photo by Liz Ligon)
Ric S. Sheffield
Ric S. Sheffield is Professor Emeritus of Legal Studies and Sociology at Kenyon College and the Director of the John Adams Summer Scholars Program in Socio-legal Studies.
Before coming to Kenyon, he served for ten years as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Ohio. He began his legal career as a civil rights lawyer handling primarily sex and race discrimination cases. He subsequently held the position of chief attorney as head of the state’s consumer protection division.
In addition to research that has focused upon the relationship between law and issues of gender, race, and ethnicity, he has spent several years examining issues involving the African American experience in rural Ohio. He is among a select group of scholars chosen to participate in the Ohio Humanities Council’s speakers’ bureau, lecturing widely on issues of race and law as well as rural diversity.
He has published articles, reviews, and book chapters on topics including legal history, the legal profession, and African American social and legal history. He is the author of the book “We Got By: A Black Family’s Journey in the Heartland.” His current project includes completion of a manuscript on voting rights cases from Ohio in the late 1860s and early 1870s.
A graduate of Case Western Reserve University where he attended college, graduate school in sociology and law school, he has served upon various statewide policy-making and regulatory boards. During his career at Kenyon, he spent several years on the College’s senior staff as associate provost before his return fulltime to the faculty. Learn more: https://www.ricsheffield.com/
Tasha Sheipline
Tasha Sheipline is a Wapakoneta native, and author of a collection of historical fiction called The Whisper Series. Her novels follow Adelia Grey, a college professor, who unwittingly finds herself embroiled in solving a series of centuries-old cold cases. An educator by trade, Tasha is an avid reader, who began writing as a creative outlet. She has a passion for developing strong characters, who learn to embrace their knowledge and personal flaws, in the context of vibrant historical settings. Her published works are sold locally, and worldwide, reaching a readership in more than twenty different countries. Tasha lives in the Shawnee area with her husband, two daughters, and two beautiful Corgis.
Jeff Shesol
A founding partner of West Wing Writers, Shesol is the author of Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. The Supreme Court, which was selected as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 2010 and a Favorite Book of the Year by The New Yorker.…
Read MoreA founding partner of West Wing Writers, Shesol is the author of Supreme Power: Franklin Roosevelt vs. The Supreme Court, which was selected as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 2010 and a Favorite Book of the Year by The New Yorker. The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin described Supreme Power as “stunning,” the kind of book that comes “once in a generation,” and The New York Times Book Review called it “riveting … revealing … an impressive and engaging book … deeply researched and beautifully written.”
Shesol’s previous book, Mutual Contempt: Lyndon Johnson, Robert Kennedy and the Feud That Defined a Decade, was also a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., called Mutual Contempt “the most gripping political book of recent years.” In the New York Times, Michiko Kakutani described the book as “riveting … Writing in sharp, fluent prose, Mr. Shesol does an authoritative job of giving us a vivid, almost novelistic sense of both of his protagonists, while at the same time situating their political stands within a historical context.”
In 1997, President Bill Clinton read Mutual Contempt and invited Shesol to become one of his speechwriters. During his three years at the White House, Shesol became the deputy chief speechwriter and a member of the senior staff. He played a leading role in drafting two State of the Union Addresses, the President’s 2000 Democratic National Convention speech, and the Farewell Address, among hundreds of other speeches. He covered a range of issues from economic policy to international development, technological innovation, and the arts. He also helped lead the President’s team of humor writers — a team that produced the acclaimed short film The Final Days.
A Rhodes Scholar, Jeff received his masters in history from Oxford University in 1993 and graduated from Brown University with highest honors in 1991. His comic strip Thatch was nationally syndicated from 1994–1998, when it appeared daily in more than 150 newspapers. He has taught presidential history at Princeton University, where he was the Anschutz Distinguished Fellow in American Studies, and at the University of California Washington Center. Shesol publishes widely under his own byline and provides frequent commentary on TV and radio. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Rebecca — a civil rights attorney — and their two children.
Check out his website at: http://shesol.com/
Jennifer Ann Shore
Jennifer Ann Shore is an award-winning, bestselling author based in Seattle, Washington. She writes romance stories that go a little deeper than the standard tropes. Her lineup of more than a dozen books includes standalones, a dystopian series, and a vampire series—with titles such as “Perfect Little Flaws,” “Young at Midnight,” and “Metallic Red.” Prior to publishing, she led an impressive career in New York, first as a journalist and then as a marketing executive, gaining recognition for her work from companies such as Hearst and SIIA. Be sure to sign up for her newsletter on her website (https://www.jenniferannshore.com) and follow her on Twitter (@JenniferAShore), Instagram (@shorely), and TikTok (@jenniferannshore).