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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Photo of Tadgh Bentley

Tadgh Bentley

Tadgh Bentley is a painter, picture book author and illustrator. He is originally from the UK and now lives in Athens, Ohio with his wife, Emily; son, Fionn; and four-legged friend Atticus.

His publishing career began with the release of ‘Little Penguin gets the Hiccups’ in 2015, a story that was written shortly after Tadgh’s move to the US.…

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Tadgh Bentley is a painter, picture book author and illustrator. He is originally from the UK and now lives in Athens, Ohio with his wife, Emily; son, Fionn; and four-legged friend Atticus.

His publishing career began with the release of ‘Little Penguin gets the Hiccups’ in 2015, a story that was written shortly after Tadgh’s move to the US. Tadgh juggled writing and illustrating with a full- and then part-time teaching career, but after fifteen years as an elementary school teacher, he left the profession to pursue creative endeavors full-time.

Tadgh retains a love of education and a passion for the written word. He is eager to share his enthusiasm and to de-mystify the creative process- in particular encouraging young people to see ‘mistakes’ as a valuable part of learning.

Learn more at https://tadghbentley.com/

Photo of Connie Bergstein Dow

Connie Bergstein Dow

Connie Bergstein Dow began dancing when she was four, and has been dancing ever since. After attending Denison University, and earning an MFA from the University of Michigan, she danced professionally in the US, Venezuela, and Guatemala. During her career as a dance educator, she has taught dance to three-year-olds, to senior adults in wheelchairs, and every age in between.…Read More

Connie Bergstein Dow began dancing when she was four, and has been dancing ever since. After attending Denison University, and earning an MFA from the University of Michigan, she danced professionally in the US, Venezuela, and Guatemala. During her career as a dance educator, she has taught dance to three-year-olds, to senior adults in wheelchairs, and every age in between. In addition to her picture book From A to Z with Energy! (Free Spirit Publishing, 2019), she has written two books for teachers published by Redleaf Press: Dance, Turn, Hop, Learn! Enriching Movement Activities for Preschoolers, and One, Two, What Can I Do? Dance and Music for the Whole Day. She also writes articles for magazines and journals, and verses for Highlights magazines.

Chris Berhalter

Chris Berhalter attended The Ohio State University where he received a BA in journalism and also obtained his law degree. Chris began practicing law with a small firm. There he rose through the ranks and became a partner in that firm, as well as becoming an assistant public defender. He wrote his first novel, Heir to the Throne, by hand on legal pads as he was waiting in court for his cases to be called.…Read More

Chris Berhalter attended The Ohio State University where he received a BA in journalism and also obtained his law degree. Chris began practicing law with a small firm. There he rose through the ranks and became a partner in that firm, as well as becoming an assistant public defender. He wrote his first novel, Heir to the Throne, by hand on legal pads as he was waiting in court for his cases to be called. Berhalter resides on a small farm with his wife Vanessa and their three children and serves as Prosecuting Attorney for Belmont County, Ohio.

Photo of Connie Berry

Connie Berry

Connie Berry is the author of the Kate Hamilton Mysteries, set in the UK and featuring an American antiques dealer with a gift for solving crimes. Like her protagonist, Connie was raised by antiques dealers who instilled in her a passion for history, fine art, and travel. In 2019 Connie won the IPPY Gold Medal for Mystery and was a finalist for the Agatha Award’s Best Debut.…Read More

Connie Berry is the author of the Kate Hamilton Mysteries, set in the UK and featuring an American antiques dealer with a gift for solving crimes. Like her protagonist, Connie was raised by antiques dealers who instilled in her a passion for history, fine art, and travel. In 2019 Connie won the IPPY Gold Medal for Mystery and was a finalist for the Agatha Award’s Best Debut. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America and is on the board of the Guppies and her local Sisters in Crime chapter. Besides reading and writing mysteries, Connie loves history, foreign travel, cute animals, and all things British. She lives in Ohio with her husband and adorable Shih Tzu, Emmie. You can learn more about Connie and her books at her website http://www.connieberry.com.

Photo of Jesse Bethea

Jesse Bethea

Jesse is a journalist, author, videographer, and the winner of the 2019 Great Novel Contest. Born and raised in Fairfax, VA, he to moved to Ohio in 2010. In 2014, Jesse moved to Columbus and immediately started writing for ColumbusUnderground.com, where his work has been recognized several times by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. By 2015, he was working for The Ohio Channel (Ohio’s version of C-SPAN) as an assistant producer.…Read More

Jesse is a journalist, author, videographer, and the winner of the 2019 Great Novel Contest. Born and raised in Fairfax, VA, he to moved to Ohio in 2010.

In 2014, Jesse moved to Columbus and immediately started writing for ColumbusUnderground.com, where his work has been recognized several times by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. By 2015, he was working for The Ohio Channel (Ohio’s version of C-SPAN) as an assistant producer.

On the rare occasions when Jesse gives himself a break from writing, he enjoys hiking, true crime podcasts, and reading, specifically non-fiction disaster/survival narratives. If there’s a situation where people have had to eat each other, he’s interested in reading more about it.

Jesse currently lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife Melissa.

Visit his website: https://jessebethea.com/

Photo of Matt Betts

Matt Betts

Matt Betts is an author and former radio personality. His work includes such science fiction novels as the critically recognized adventure Odd Men Out and its sequel Red Gear Nine, the urban fantasy Indelible Ink, the giant monster vs. giant robot book The Shadow Beneath the Waves, and the cryptid horror tale White Anvil: Sasquatch Onslaught.…Read More

Matt Betts is an author and former radio personality. His work includes such science fiction novels as the critically recognized adventure Odd Men Out and its sequel Red Gear Nine, the urban fantasy Indelible Ink, the giant monster vs. giant robot book The Shadow Beneath the Waves, and the cryptid horror tale White Anvil: Sasquatch Onslaught. He is also an accomplished speculative poet, and lives in Columbus with his wife and children.

Jill Bialosky

Jill Bialosky is the author of three previous poetry collections: The End of Desire, Subterranean, and Intruder. Her poems have appeared in journals such as the Paris Review, the Kenyon Review, the New Yorker, and the Atlantic Monthly. She is also the author of several novels and the memoir History of a Suicide: My Sister's Unfinished Life.…Read More

Jill Bialosky is the author of three previous poetry collections: The End of Desire, Subterranean, and Intruder. Her poems have appeared in journals such as the Paris Review, the Kenyon Review, the New Yorker, and the Atlantic Monthly. She is also the author of several novels and the memoir History of a Suicide: My Sister’s Unfinished Life. Bialosky is an editor at W.W. Norton and lives in New York City.

Photo of Laura Bickle

Laura Bickle

Laura Bickle grew up in rural Ohio, reading entirely too many comic books out loud to her favorite Wonder Woman doll. After graduating with an MA in Sociology - Criminology from Ohio State University and an MLIS in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she patrolled the stacks at the public library and worked with data systems in criminal justice.…Read More

Laura Bickle grew up in rural Ohio, reading entirely too many comic books out loud to her favorite Wonder Woman doll. After graduating with an MA in Sociology – Criminology from Ohio State University and an MLIS in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she patrolled the stacks at the public library and worked with data systems in criminal justice. She now dreams up stories about the monsters under the stairs, also writing contemporary fantasy novels under the name Alayna Williams. Her work has been included in the ALA’s Amelia Bloomer Project 2013 reading list and the State Library of Ohio’s Choose to Read Ohio reading list for 2015-2016. Her newest project is the Wildlands contemporary fantasy series for Harper Voyager. The latest updates on her work are available at http://www.laurabickle.com/

Photo of Jenn Bishop

Jenn Bishop

Jenn Bishop is the author of five novels for young readers, including the Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner Things You Can’t Say and 2023 & 2024 Choose to Read Ohio title Where We Used to Roam. Her books have been named Junior Library Guild selections and Bank Street College of Education best books and have been finalists for state book awards.…Read More

Jenn Bishop is the author of five novels for young readers, including the Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner Things You Can’t Say and 2023 & 2024 Choose to Read Ohio title Where We Used to Roam. Her books have been named Junior Library Guild selections and Bank Street College of Education best books and have been finalists for state book awards. She currently calls Cincinnati, Ohio, home. What team do you think she roots for?

Lisa Black

Lisa Black spent the happiest five years of her life in a morgue. Strange, perhaps, but true. After ten years as a secretary, she went back to school to get a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Cleveland State University. In her job as a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, Black analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes.…Read More

Lisa Black spent the happiest five years of her life in a morgue. Strange, perhaps, but true. After ten years as a secretary, she went back to school to get a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Cleveland State University. In her job as a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, Black analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. She is now a latent fingerprint examiner in Florida. Black has lectured at writer’s conventions and appeared on panels. In her life as a writer she is a member of Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers.

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