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.
Richard F. Celeste
Richard F. Celeste was the governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991. He has held a variety of positions in government and public service, most recently serving as president of Colorado College. He is currently a trustee of the Gates Family Foundation and Global Communities. The father of seven children, Celeste resides in Colorado with his wife, Jacqueline, and is involved with numerous charities.
Marianne Chan
Marianne Chan grew up in Stuttgart, Germany, and Lansing, Michigan. After she earned her B.A. in English from Michigan State University, she went on to study poetry at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she earned her MFA. Marianne is the author of All Heathens, which was the winner of the 2021 GLCA New Writers Award in Poetry and the 2021 Ohioana Book Award in Poetry. Her poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, New England Review, Kenyon Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and elsewhere. Between 2017-2019, she served as poetry editor for Split Lip Magazine.She lives in Cincinnati with her partner, Clancy, and her cat, Bella. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English & Creative Writing at the University of Cincinnati and serves as the Assistant Poetry Editor at Acre Books.
Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar
Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar is an Indian American writer. Born to a middle-class family in India, she later migrated to the USA with her husband and son. She currently lives in the suburbs of Ohio. She is a technologist by profession and a writer by passion. Her stories and poems have appeared in numerous publications, print and online. Her work has been selected for Best Small Fictions 2022. She won first place in ELJ Micro Creative Non-Fiction Prize, placed in the Strands International Flash Fiction Festival. and is the runner-up for the Chestnut Review Chapbook Contest. Her stories have been shortlisted in the Bath Flash Fiction Awards and SmokeLong Micro Competition. She is currently a Prose Editor at Janus Literary and a Submissions Editor at SmokeLong Quarterly. Her debut flash fiction collection “Morsels of Purple” was released in 2021. More at https://saraspunyfingers.com. Reach her @PunyFingers
e.E. Charlton-Trujillo
Described as “a force of nature” by Kirkus Reviews, author, filmmaker and youth literacy activist e.E. Charlton-Trujillo has written several books for teens and children, most notably the ALA Winning and Choose to Read Ohio series Fat Angie. Their celebrated co-authored picture books with NYT Bestseller Pat Zietlow Miller include: Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules, Lupe Lopez: Reading Rock Star, and A Girl Can Build Anything. Trujillo’s short fiction appeared in the Read Across America selection Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican In America and the lauded anthology The Collectors edited by A.S. King. They are the co-founder of the literacy nonprofit Never Counted Out and a Madriana with Las Musas.
Julie Chase
Julie Chase is a mystery-loving pet enthusiast who hopes to make readers smile. She lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three small children. Julie is a member of the International Thriller Writers (ITW) and Sisters in Crime (SinC). She is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyons Literary Agency. Julie also writes as Julie Anne Lindsey.
Craig M. Chavis , Jr.
Craig M. Chavis Jr. is an award-winning author and interdisciplinary coach on a mission to help entrepreneurs discover, embrace, and transform their purpose into profits. At the core of Craig’s coaching philosophy lies the mantra – Become the Entrepreneur of Your Life. Through this lens, he coaches through an alternative and holistic perspective cultivated from over a decade of first-hand experience launching and managing multiple businesses in Ghana, Costa Rica, Peru, and the United States of America. He is a serial entrepreneur, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, a former division-1 collegiate athlete, and received his BSBA from Samford University and MBA from the University of Tampa. Craig is also a super foodie, world traveler, lifelong learner, and currently resides in Columbus, OH.
Kara H.L. Chen
Kara H.L. Chen is a Taiwanese American writer who received her MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College. She is the author of LOVE & RESISTANCE (Quill Tree/Harper Collins, 2023) and ASKING FOR A FRIEND (Quill Tree/HarperCollins, 7/23/24). She grew up in Ohio but now lives with her husband and two daughters in Northern California. She can be found online at karahlchen.com.
Jeff Chenault
Jeff Chenault is an author, producer and music historian. His first book, published by The History Press, was Kahiki Supper Club: A Polynesian Paradise in Columbus, Ohio, co-written with David Meyers, Elise Meyers-Walker and Doug Motz. Jeff has also written for multiple publications, including Cool and Strange Music Magazine, Bachelor Pad Magazine, Tiki Magazine and Exotica Moderne. He is currently producing a series of rare Exotica music for Dionysus Records.