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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Ross Gay
Ross Gay is the New York Times bestselling author of the essay collections The Book of Delights and Inciting Joy and four books of poetry. His Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and in 2022 was named an NEA Big Read title; and Be Holding won the 2021 PEN America Jean Stein Book Award. Gay is a founding board member of the Bloomington Community Orchard, a non-profit, free-fruit-for-all food justice and joy project and has received fellowships from Cave Canem, the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, and the Guggenheim Foundation. He teaches at Indiana University. https://www.rossgay.net/
Dan Gearino
Dan Gearino is a lifelong comics reader with tastes that swing from the classic Legion of Super-Heroes to the work of Michel Rabagliati. As a business reporter for the Columbus Dispatch, he has won national recognition for his work. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and two daughters. Find him at http://www.dangearino.com.
Claire Gebben
Claire Gebben was born and raised on the southeast side of Cleveland, Ohio. Her historical novel “The Last of the Blacksmiths” (Coffeetown Press, 2014), based on the true story of a German immigrant blacksmith to Ohio, has been named a Notable Book at Cleveland State University’s Michael Schwartz Library, and Book of the Month with the German American Heritage Foundation. Her memoir, “How We Survive Here: Families Across Time” (Coffeetown Press, 2018) recounts the author’s quest to trace and write the truth about her ancestors. The memoir received a Finalist Award in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. In the name of historical research, Ms. Gebben has harvested grapes in the German Rhinelands and wielded a blacksmith hammer on fiery hot steel. She lives and writes in the Pacific Northwest. More info at: http://clairegebben.com.
Becky Gehrisch
Becky Gehrisch grew up drawing dogs and farm scenes after visiting her grandparents’ homes in the country. It’s no wonder that she went on to create Escape To Play after earning an art degree from The Ohio State University. Becky moved to a rural town in Ohio where she is constantly inspired by the beautiful countryside and wildlife just outside her window. You can find her getting into her own kind of shenanigans with her husband and kids as they explore the USA in their RV.
Jennifer Geiger
Jennifer Geiger, the daughter of an oil company dispatcher, was born in Kansas, and because of her father’s job, transferred to Ohio during her elementary years. Growing up, Jennifer entertained her friends and family with stories she invented using characters they supplied. It wasn’t until after she married and had children of her own, that her desire to create stories resurfaced through those she created for her own. She is the mother of three grown daughters, who have given her seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She has been married over 30 years to her husband, Jim. Her passion for writing nearly died out until her younger brother encouraged her to finish the stories she had started. Encouraged at his words, Jennifer sat down at her computer and completed her first book, Witness; a story with an interesting twist revolving around the apostle John as he witnessed life with Jesus. Jennifer followed Witness with an eight-session video and workbook series created so the reader could step into the shoes of the apostle John thereby experiencing life with Jesus through the eyes of the disciple He loved. Continuing the story, Jennifer produced her latest novel, Patmos. Her new adventure picks up where Witness left off—filling the gaps of John’s life during his banishment where he receives a special revelation from God.
Adam J. Gellings
Adam J. Gellings is a poet & instructor from the Northland neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. He received his MFA from Ashland University & his PhD from the State University of New York at Binghamton, where he was the recipient of a fellowship from the Marion Clayton Link Endowment. His poems have appeared in numerous journals & magazines including the Best New Poets Anthology 2017 & 2021, New South, Salamander, The Southampton Review, Willow Springs & elsewhere. His debut poetry collection Little Palace was released in fall 2022 by Stephen F. Austin State University Press. He currently teaches at Columbus College of Art & Design. Learn more: https://www.adamjgellings.com/
Carole Gerber
Carole Gerber is a poet and children’s book author living in Powell, Ohio. She has written nearly two dozen picture books, early readers, and chapter books.
Gerber has worked as a high school and middle school English teacher, an adjunct professor of journalism at Ohio State, a marketing director, editor of a company magazine, a member of creative teams at an ad agency and a hospital, a contributing editor to a computer magazine, and – finally! – as a freelance writer of hundreds of elementary textbooks, magazine articles, speeches, annual reports, and patient education materials.
Besides being a “Jill” of many trades – or more precisely – one trade, writing, with many incarnations, Gerber is married to Mark, the mother of two grown daughters, Jess and Paige, and “Mimi” to Sara and Tyler, Paige’s children. In addition, she sponsors half a dozen children at a time through World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children of all faiths in more than 100 developing countries. Gerber keeps their photos posted to remind her of her blessings and responsibilities.
In her free time, she volunteers as a tour guide for children at a local nature preserve and farm. Gerber also enjoys gardening, though her enthusiasm dwindles as summer progresses, and reading, mostly for her own pleasure and edification. Gerber belongs to a neighborhood book discussion group, enjoys traveling to learn about other countries and cultures, and practices yoga which, like writing, is humbling and challenging. For more information, visit http://carolegerber.com/
Robin Gianna
After completing a degree in journalism from Ohio State University, working in the advertising industry, then becoming a stay-at-home mom for a few years, Robin Gianna had what she likes to call her midlife awakening. She decided she wanted to write the romance novels she’d loved since her teens, and embarked on that quest.
Robin loves pushing her characters to grow until they’re finally ready for their well-deserved happily-ever-afters! When she’s not writing, Robin’s life is filled with a cheerfully messy kitchen, a needy garden, a grand piano she doesn’t practice enough, her own doctor hero husband, three great kids, a drooling bulldog, and one grouchy Siamese cat.
David Giffels
David Giffels is the author of eight books of nonfiction, most recently The Beginning Was the End: Devo in Ohio, coauthored with Jade Dellinger. His 2020 book Barnstorming Ohio: To Understand America, was described by Publishers Weekly as a “trenchant mix of memoir, reportage, and political analysis,” and selected as one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2020. His other books include the memoirs Furnishing Eternity and All the Way Home, both winners of the Ohioana Book Award, and The Hard Way on Purpose, a New York Times Book Review “Editors’ Choice.” His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Parade, The Iowa Review, Esquire, Grantland, and many other publications. He also wrote for the MTV animated series Beavis and Butt-Head. He is a professor of English at the University of Akron, where he serves on the faculty of the NEOMFA creative writing program.