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.
Kenn Kaufman
Kenn Kaufman burst onto the birding scene as a teenager in the 1970s, hitch-hiking all over North America in pursuit of birds, an adventure later chronicled in his cult-classic book Kingbird Highway. After several years as a professional tour leader, taking groups to all seven continents, he transitioned to a career as a writer, editor, and illustrator. Most of his energy currently goes into book projects and painting bird portraits. He has written a dozen books, including seven titles in his own series, Kaufman Field Guides. His other books include Lives of North American Birds and Flights Against the Sunset. The latest is A Season on the Wind: Inside the world of spring migration, published in 2019. Kenn is a field editor for Audubon, a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society, and the only person to have received the American Birding Association’s lifetime achievement award twice.
Josephine Rascoe Keenan
Josephine Rascoe Keenan grew up in Arkansas’s oil patch, El Dorado, city of “black gold,” but is now a resident of Ohio. After working many years in theatre and film as a director and as an actress, during which time she had a feature role in a movie starring Johnny Cash, Josephine launched her encore career as a full-time writer of novels and short stories for young people.
In 2016, Pen-L Publishing launched Josephine’s three-book series entitled “The Days of Elvis,” about a teenage girl, Julie Morgan, who makes a casual decision to attend a concert featuring a new singer, Elvis Presley, and her life is changed forever. The cover art for all three books is her own work.
Josephine’s stories and poems have been published in Cricket magazine and Modern Maturity. Her plays have been produced in regional theatres and The Center of the Universe, was chosen as a winner of Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati’s New Play Contest.
When not writing, Josephine enjoys square dancing and cooking Southern dishes, such as hot water cornbread, little lady peas, and grandma’s champion peach cobbler.
Follow Josephine at
Facebook @ Josephine.Keenan1
Twitter @JRKeenan01
Instagram @KeenanJ17
Shawnie Kelley
Shawnie Kelley has written several books, including the Insiders’ Guide to Columbus and It Happened on Cape Cod and contributes to a variety of history and food magazines, including Edible Columbus, Sophisticated Living, Renaissance Magazine, and History Magazine. She is a Partner and Travel Director for Wanderlust Tours, specializing in cultural and culinary travel, and teaches travel seminars and cooking classes with more of a cultural slant. Shawnie lives in Columbus, Ohio, but is based in Yarmouth when on Cape Cod. She is currently writing her next title, A Woman’s Guide to France, to be published by Wanderlust Travel Press in 2016.
Cassandra J. Kelly
Marlane Kennedy
Marlane Kennedy is the author of two middle grade novels published by HarperCollins: Me and the Pumpkin Queen and The Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes. Both books were nominees to a variety of state award lists. She is also the author of the Disaster Strikes series published by Scholastic—adventures featuring ordinary kids in extraordinary situations that test their strength, smarts, and courage. Booklist praised the first release of the series: “Full of action and realistic friend dynamics…this holds strong appeal for both girls and boys and features a diverse cast of characters. A rare find in transitional chapter books.” A life-long Ohio resident, Marlane was born in Waverly, Ohio and now lives in Wooster, Ohio with her husband and daughter. Find her online at http://marlanekennedy.com.
Anne Vittur Kennedy
Anne Kennedy began her career in corporate illustration and quickly jumped to children’s books. Having illustrated for many years, she is now happily writing and illustrating her own titles. A life long love of animals and humor are evident in her work. She says her dog, Banjo, who often supervises in the studio, has incredible “dog logic” which inspired her to write Ragweed’s Farm Dog Handbook. Her time spent on farms riding horses has played a part in her stories too. Anne is the recipient of many awards, including Teacher’s Choice, Green Earth Book Award, American Library Notable Book, an Irma S. Black Honor Book, and she is honored too to represent Ohio with her Ohioana Choose To Read book, The Farmer’s Away! Baa! Neigh!
Jillian Kent
Jillian Kent’s first novel in The Ravensmoore Chronicles, Secrets of the Heart, debuted in 2011 and held readers captive winning four stars from Romantic Times and first place in the 2012 Wisconsin RWA Write Touch Contest. Also, in 2012, Chameleon, the second book in the series found its way into readers hands and hearts with an, “I dare you to solve the ending,” challenge from the author.…
Read MoreJillian Kent’s first novel in The Ravensmoore Chronicles, Secrets of the Heart, debuted in 2011 and held readers captive winning four stars from Romantic Times and first place in the 2012 Wisconsin RWA Write Touch Contest. Also, in 2012, Chameleon, the second book in the series found its way into readers hands and hearts with an, “I dare you to solve the ending,” challenge from the author. Mystery of the Heart, book three in the series (2013) is already grabbing the attention of readers who love a romantic adventure. Jillian resides in Cincinnati, Ohio where she is employed as a counselor for nursing students. She’s married, the mother of two adult daughters, and loves animals, chocolate, and coffee. You can find her on the web at http://www.jilliankent.com.
Aya Khalil
Aya Khalil is the award-winning author of picture books and board books. Aya holds a master’s degree in education. Aya and her books have been featured on Oprah Daily, The Washington Post, and USA Today. She immigrated from Egypt to the United States when she was young and currently lives with her partner and three children in Northwest Ohio. Aya invites you to visit her online at: ayakhalil.com.
Intisar Khanani
Intisar Khanani grew up a nomad and world traveler. She has lived in five different states as well as in Jeddah on the coast of the Red Sea. Until recently, Intisar wrote grants and developed projects to address community health with the Cincinnati Health Department, which was as close as she could get to saving the world. Now she focuses her time on her two passions: raising her family and writing fantasy. She is the author of The Sunbolt Chronicles and Thorn.
Brendan Kiely
Brendan Kiely is The New York Times bestselling author of All American Boys (with Jason Reynolds), Tradition, The Last True Love Story, and The Gospel of Winter. His most recent book is The Other Talk: Reckoning with Our White Privilege. His work has been published in over a dozen languages, and has received the Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award, the Walter Dean Meyers Award, and ALA’s Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults. A former high school teacher, he is now on the faculty of the Solstice MFA Program. He watches too much basketball and reads too many books at the same time, but most importantly, he lives for and loves his wife and son.