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.
Marie Weller
Marie Weller and Paula Vertikoff are a dynamic duo committed to promoting social-emotional wellness for
children and the adults who support them. With a combined experience of fifty years in the field of education,
they have witnessed firsthand what research has confirmed – social emotional wellness plays an integral role in
academic achievement and overall success in life.
Their beloved “Cranium Critters” picture book series introduces two endearing characters who explore the
fascinating world of the brain and its crucial role in managing emotions, fostering focus, and accomplishing
goals. Scout, the brain’s safety pup, imparts valuable lessons to children on calming their minds and effectively
managing their emotions through mindfulness and other evidence-based techniques. Einstein, the brain’s head
thinker and problem solver, equips children with skills to overcome distractions and stay focused on what truly
matters.
Driven by their passion for empowering young minds, Marie and Paula founded Cranium Kids Media, to share
video lessons, stories, blog articles, and activities to help young people learn little life lessons and develop big
life skills needed to lead happier, healthier lives.
For more information and to explore their enriching content, please visit their website at
https://craniumkidsmedia.com/, and subscribe to their YouTube channel, which features additional video
lessons: https://www.youtube.com/@CraniumKidsMedia/videos.
They also offer valuable resources for educators on their Teachers Pay Teachers page:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Cranium-Kids-Media.
Connect with them on Facebook or Instagram for updates and insights: @craniumkidsmedia and
@cranium.critters.
Marie resides in Columbus, Ohio, with her loving husband and takes pride in being a mother to three grown
children. Paula calls Hilliard, Ohio, her home, where she lives with her husband, two sons, and a feisty beagle
named Mila, who served as the inspiration for Scout, the brain’s safety pup.
Sarah M. Wells
Sarah M. Wells is the author of Pruning Burning Bushes, and a chapbook of poems, Acquiesce, winner of the 2008 Starting Gate Award. Poems by Wells have appeared or are forthcoming in Alimentum, Ascent, Christianity & Literature, JAMA, Literary Mama, Measure, New Ohio Review, Nimrod, Poetry East, Puerto del Sol, Rock & Sling, and elsewhere. Her essays have been published by Ascent and River Teeth. Sarah’s poetry has been honored with two Pushcart Prize nominations. Her essay, “Those Summers, These Days” was named a notable essay in the Best American Essays 2012. She has received scholarships to attend the Key West Literary Seminar and West Chester Poetry Conferences. Sarah serves as the Administrative Director for the low-residency MFA program at Ashland University and Managing Editor for the Ashland Poetry Press and River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative. She resides in Ashland, Ohio with her husband, Brandon, and their three young children, Lydia, Elvis, and Henry. http://www.sarahmwells.com
Andrew Welsh-Huggins
Andrew Welsh-Huggins, of Columbus, is the Shamus, Derringer, and ITW-award-nominated author of The Mailman, featuring Mercury Carter, a former federal agent turned freelance courier. Welsh-Huggins is also the author of the standalone thriller, The End of the Road, the Andy Hayes Private Eye series, and editor of Columbus Noir. Andrew’s short stories have appeared in multiple magazines and anthologies, including The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2021 and 2024. Learn more at: https://www.andrewwelshhuggins.com/
Jessica Weyer-Bentley
Jessica Weyer Bentley is an author/poet. Her first collection of poetry, Crimson Sunshine, was published in May 2020 by AlyBlue Media. Her second collection, Down Below Where the Canary Sings, was published in May of 2023 by Sage Owl Publishing in Massachusetts. She has contributed work to several publications for the Award-Winning Book Series, Grief Diaries. Jessica’s work has been published in countless anthologies both in print and online. She is the Ohio Poetry Association Student Contest Chair. Jessica grew up in the hills of Eastern Kentucky and currently resides in Northwest Ohio with her husband, Larry, and her two children, Laura and Joseph.
Katie & Carrie Weyler
Sisters, Katie and Carrie Weyler, are lifelong residents of Ohio. Growing up, they lived on a small farm in the country with a horse, a goat, several adopted dogs and cats, and a couple of pigs that they showed in 4-H. This inspired their love for animals, nature, and exploring the great outdoors. Through their Charlie Tractor picture books, they hope to encourage all children to explore nature and spend time outside with the people they love. Visit them online at: https://charlietractor.com/
Nick White
Nick White is the author of two books of fiction: Sweet & Low, a collection of stories, and How to Survive a Summer, a novel. His fiction and essays have appeared in The Kenyon Review, Indiana Review, Catapult, The Literary Review, Guernica, and elsewhere. He is an Assistant Professor of English at The Ohio State University.
Julie Whitney
Julie Whitney is a public relations professional with forty years of experience in public relations and marketing, having worked on both the agency and client side as well as in the television industry. Her company, Phillippi-Whitney Communications, LLC, founded in 2000, represents both large and small clients in a wide variety of industries. She has promoted dozens of authors throughout her career, often supplementing the efforts of the internal PR teams of their publishers. She also works as on-camera talent, appearing in both television commercials and video podcasts. She even appeared as an extra in the movie Grease, which was shot on location in the summer of 1977 in Los Angeles. Learn more at: https://astrathelonelyairplane.com/
Annette Januzzi Wick
Annette Januzzi Wick is an author, writer and community connector. She grew up in northern Ohio. She graduated from the University of Akron with a Computer Science degree yet still sighs when her cell phone doesn’t work. For a time, she made her home in the Pacific Northwest until firmly planting her feet in Cincinnati. When she’s not writing, she is walking Cincinnati’s fifty-two neighborhoods or finding and making connections in the community.
She is the founder Three Arch Press, and has previously published I’ll Be in the Car (2006). I’ll Have Some of Yours (2019) is based on her award-winning blog, Find You in the Sun (http://www.findyouinthesun.com), where additional essays appear.
Her writings have appeared in the Alzheimer’s Association’s Cornerstone, Erma Bombeck Humor Blog, Grief Becomes You: A Narrative of Loss, and Movers and Makers, and have received awards from Writer’s Digest, National Society of Newspaper Columnists, Sinclair College, and USA Book News.
Annette is available for speaking events, book signings and writing workshops. Visit annettejwick.com to purchase her book or learn more. I’ll Have Some of Yours is also available for order through Amazon and major distributors.
Kathy Wiechman
Kathy Cannon Wiechman is a former teacher and a lover of American history. She was awarded the 2015 Grateful American Book Prize for her debut novel LIKE A RIVER. Her newest novel NOT ON FIFTH STREET is loosely based on her father’s experiences during the record-breaking Ohio River flood of 1937.