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.
- You are searching within category(ies): 2016
Leah Stewart
Leah Stewart is the author of the novels Body of a Girl, The Myth of You and Me, Husband and Wife, The History of Us, and The New Neighbor. The daughter of an Air Force officer and an elementary school teacher, she lived as a child in Virginia, Idaho, England, Kansas, and Virginia again. She went to high school in Clovis, New Mexico (a town featured in her second novel, The Myth of You and Me), college at Vanderbilt University, and graduate school at the University of Michigan. Since then, she has lived in Boston and Chapel Hill and held visiting writer positions at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee; Vanderbilt University; and Murray State University in Kentucky. Now a professor at the University of Cincinnati, she lives in Cincinnati with her husband and two children. In 2010, she was the recipient of an NEA Literature Fellowship and in 2014 the recipient of a Sachs Fund Prize, given for contributions to Cincinnati arts and culture. Her fourth novel, The History of Us, which is set in Cincinnati, is on the Choose to Read Ohio list for 2015–16. For more, go to leahstewart.com
Diane Stortz
Diane Stortz is a multipublished author who writes to make God’s wonders known to the next generation. Her newest children’s releases are Stop-and-Go Devotions: 52 Devotions for Busy Parents and God’s Words to Dream On, both from Tommy Nelson. Diane’s books for women encourage them to know God’s Word, the Bible. Diane and her husband have two married daughters and five young grandchildren—all boys! Visit her at http://www.DianeStortz.com.
Sam Thomas
Sam Thomas has a PhD in history with a focus on Reformation England and recently leaped from the tenure track into a teaching position at a secondary school near Cleveland, Ohio.
Read MoreSam Thomas has a PhD in history with a focus on Reformation England and recently leaped from the tenure track into a teaching position at a secondary school near Cleveland, Ohio.
Cindy Thomson
Known for the inspirational Celtic theme employed in most of her books, Cindy Thomson is the author of six novels and three non-fiction books, including her newest Celtic Son. A genealogy enthusiast, she writes from her home in Ohio where she lives with her husband Tom near their three grown sons and their families. Visit her online at http://www.cindyswriting.com
Otis Trotter
Otis Trotter lives in North Canton, Ohio. He never really planned to be a writer, but by late 2011, he succumbed to a calling that he’d had since his forties, and started writing a book about his life experiences and his large, unique family in a small Ohio town. Otis is a graduate of Central State University, Wilberforce, Ohio with a bachelor’s of science in Psychology. In 2009, he retired after 30 years of service with the Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities. Currently, he is an Independent Provider for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.
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.
Jane Ann Turzillo
Jane Ann Turzillo is the author of ten books. She has been nominated twice for the Agatha for Wicked Women of Ohio and Unsolved Murders & Disappearances in Northeast Ohio. She is also a National Federation of Press Women award-winner for Wicked Cleveland, Ohio Train Disasters, and others. A full-time author and speaker, she concentrates on true crime and history. Her current book is Northern Ohio Cold Cases. As one of the original owners of a large weekly newspaper, she covered police, fire and hard news. Visit her website at http://www.janeannturzillo.com.
Tara Tyler
Tara Tyler has had a hand in everything from waitressing to rocket engineering. After moving all over the US, she now writes and teaches math in Ohio with her husband and one boy left in the nest. She has two novel series, Pop Travel (sci-fi detective thrillers) and Beast World (fantasy adventures), plus her UnPrincess novella series where the damsels save themselves. She’s a commended blogger, contributed to several anthologies, and to fit all these projects in, she economizes her time, aka the Lazy Housewife—someday she might write a book on that… Make every day an adventure!
Carmella Van Vleet
Carmella Van Vleet is a former teacher who has been a full-time author for over 20 years. She’s the author of over a dozen books, both fiction and non-fiction, for kids of all ages. Her debut middle grade novel, Eliza Bing Is (Not) A Big Fat Quitter, received the Christopher Award and was featured on multiple state award lists, including Choose to Read Ohio. And her recent middle grade, Nothing Is Little, was a 2023 Ohioana Book Award finalist. She also co-authored the picture book To the Stars! The First American Woman to Walk in Space (co-authored with astronaut Kathy Sullivan). Carmella lives in Columbus, Ohio. She can be found online at: https://carmellavanvleet.com/.
Christina Wald
Christina Wald is a product designer and illustrator in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has illustrated over 50 picture books and is obsessed with urban sketching and travel.
She started out illustrating professionally for games including the Star Wars role playing game series, Middle Earth: Wizards, A Lord of the Rings collectable card game, Dragon Magazine, BattleTech, Dune and many others.
One of her latest books, Cao Chong Weighs and Elephant by Songju Ma Daemicke, recently was given an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book Award, included on the NSTA Best STEM Books list for 2018, and recieved a Mathical Award. Other recent highlights include: Paws, Hoofs, and Wings Animal Heroes of the San Diego Zoo by Shari Lyon, the official children’s book to celebrate the zoo’s 2016 centennial, Camas and Sage: A Story of Bison Life on the Prairie by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent for the American Prairie Reserve ; The Wild Life of Elk by Donna Love (A joint venture between the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the National Forest Service) and many others.
Many of her books are about animals and ecosystems and she often travels and consults with scientists for research.
She has done toy design development for National Geographic, Encyclopedia Britannica, and Discovery Kids. She even has done an occasional animation background and package art for GI Joe. She is currently developing a graphic novel.
She started urban sketching in 2011 and helps coordinate the Cincinnati chapter and is on the social media team of the international organization.
She graduated from the University of Cincinnati DAAP with a degree in Industrial Design and teaches illustration at the Art Academy of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University.