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): 2022
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Margaret Peterson Haddix is the New York Times-bestselling author of 50 books for kids and teens, including the Shadow Children series, the Missing series, and the Greystone Secrets series. Her newest book, The Ghostly Photos, is the second in a new series, Mysteries of Trash and Treasure. Her books have been published in more than 20 countries and honored with the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award and numerous state reader’s choice awards, including the Buckeye Book Award. Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio, and graduated from Miami University with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing, and history. Before her first book was published in 1995, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois. She and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio. They are the parents of two grown children.
Andrea Hall
Andrea Hall is an author and children’s book editor. She received a BA in English/creative writing from Miami University in Ohio. She’s a former book reviewer for the Ohioana Quarterly and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. When not writing, Andrea can be found crafting, baking, and reading. Raised in Ohio, Andrea currently lives in Chicago.
Pauletta Hansel
John Harder
John D. Harder is associate professor emeritus in evolution, ecology, and organismal biology at The Ohio State University, where he taught upper-division courses in mammalogy and conservation biology. His research on the reproductive biology and ecology of mammals has focused on marsupials and involved field studies in Ohio, Venezuela, and Amazonian Peru.
Larisa Harper
Larisa Harper has been a higher education professional for more than 25 years with experience and leadership in academic affairs, student services, assessment, accreditation, strategic planning, workforce development, research, policy, and grant writing. Dr. Harper is the Chief Academic Officer for Zane State College in Zanesville.
Dr. Harper enjoys researching historical aspects of her community and participates in executive boards focused on education and history, mental health and recovery services, and cancer awareness. She lives in Zanesville, Ohio with her husband, Aaron. She has one son, A.J. Harper of Fort Wayne, Indiana; two daughters, Cassie Harper, Columbus, Ohio; and Jordee Harper, Zanesville. Learn more at her website: https://larisaharper.wordpress.com/
S.R.D. Harris
Author S.R.D. Harris has always been a reading fanatic! Ever since she was featured in two children’s books as a young child and volunteered at her local library, she has dreamed of becoming a published author. Through hard work and determination, she achieved that dream when she wrote and published her first book, Future Miss President. Harris currently has 8 children’s books published and 2 more in production. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University and a Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Her mission is to write and publish high-quality, uplifting, and empowering diverse children’s books that will inspire a love of reading in all children! She has been featured on PBS/WOSU’s Broad & High TV show and in many publications to date. Harris and her husband have 3 daughters, and a rescued puppy named Gracie. Their youngest daughter, Camryn, is her co-author and collaborates on all of her books. Her 4th book, Gracie’s Grace, is in partnership with CHA Animal Shelter, to benefit their mission to help homeless dogs and cats find loving homes. When they are not reading, writing, cooking, or traveling, they enjoy volunteering and giving back. They have currently donated hundreds of their books to students all over Ohio, and Harris enthusiastically volunteers with Reading 365/The American Literacy Corporation. She believes all children can love reading if they connect with the right books for them. You can follow her on her website srdharrisbooks.com and major social media channels @srdharrisbooks. Her books are sold internationally and available in local libraries and bookstores.
David Hassler
David Hassler, MFA directs the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University. In 2009, he cofounded Traveling Stanzas, a community arts project which creates illustrations in response to poems generated from community workshops in schools, healthcare facilities, libraries, senior centers, and veterans’ organizations. Hassler is the author or editor of ten books of poetry and nonfiction, including Dear Vaccine: Global Voices Speak to the Pandemic; Growing Season: The Life of a Migrant Community; and Speak a Powerful Magic: Ten Years of the Traveling Stanzas Poetry Project. His play, May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970, based on the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project, was published by The Kent State University Press along with a Teacher’s Resource Book and was produced in 2020 as a national radio play by the WKSU NPR station. Hassler’s awards include Ohio Poet of the Year, the Ohioana Book Award, and the Carter G. Woodson Honor Book Award. His TEDx talk, “The Conversation of Poetry,” conveys the power of poetry to strengthen communities. In addition to his creative writing publications, he has co-authored articles on poetry, technology, and healing in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, the Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, and the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing.
Wil Haygood
Will Haygood is a former Boston Globe (where he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist) and Washington Post reporter. Haygood has received writing fellowships from the Guggenheim, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Alicia Patterson Foundations. His biographies of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Sammy Davis Jr., Sugar Ray Robinson, and Thurgood Marshall have been widely acclaimed. Haygood also wrote the New York Times bestseller, The Butler: A Witness to History, which was adapted into an award-winning movie. Haygood is currently serving an appointment as Boadway Visiting Distinguished Scholar at his alma mater, Miami University, Ohio.
William Heath
William Heath was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and grew up in the nearby town of Poland. He attended Hiram College and Case Western Reserve University, with a Ph.D. in American Studies. He has taught at Kenyon, Transylvania, Vassar, the University of Seville, and Mt. St. Mary’s University, where he is a professor emeritus. The William Heath Award is given annually to the best student writer. He has published two chapbooks, Night Moves in Ohio and Leaving Seville; two books of poems, The Walking Man and Steel Valley Elegy; three novels: The Children Bob Moses Led (winner of the Hackney Award), Devil Dancer, and Blacksnake’s Path; a work of history, William Wells and the Struggle for the Old Northwest (winner of two Spur Awards); and a collection of interviews, Conversations with Robert Stone. His essays on American literature and history have appeared in numerous scholarly journals. He has his wife, the Catalan novelist Roser Caminals, live in Frederick, Maryland.
In addition to his poetry, William Heath is also the author of an award-winning work of history, William Wells and the Struggle for the Old Northwest. He can be found online at http://www.williamheathbooks.com
Nancy Herriman
Nancy Herriman has fronted a cover band, acted on stage, and worked in the tech industry as an engineer. Writing is her current and most long-lasting passion. Her work has won the Daphne du Maurier award, and Publishers Weekly says her ‘A Mystery of Old San Francisco’ series “…brings 1867 San Francisco to vivid life.” Her latest release is NO REFUGE FROM THE GRAVE. She is also the author of the Bess Ellyott Mysteries. When not writing, she enjoys singing, gabbing about writing, and eating dark chocolate. Learn more at: https://www.nancyherriman.com/