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.
M.L Mastran
Monica was born in Scranton Pennsylvania but was raised in Youngstown, Ohio, which is also where she currently resides with her husband and son. Since a young age, Monica has always had a passion for storytelling. Anything that was of interest to her she could find a story with however, it was her stories of experiences such as walking in an old cemetery, to riding a roller coaster to walking the lonely isles of an old junk yard that seemed the most precious.
Monica has an undergraduate degree in Communication but also majored in History, which is what her Master’s Degree is in as well. She also started on her PHD in History. This love of history is very evident in most of Monica’s stories. While studying for both degrees, she wrote numerous works for the academic audience. Many of which were presented and published for both student and professional audiences, but at home she would continue to dabble with her love of fiction. It was the challenge of creating a new world and characters that would make for some great stories. In fact, she found out very quickly, strong characters drive the story and make it worth the journey.
Most of her writing comes from her literary and movie loves and inspirations. Some of her favorite TV shows (including ‘of all time’) are Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, the Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. One of her favorite authors is Anne Rice however, she is also a huge J.R.R. Tolkien fan and has read nearly all Tolkien works: her favorite book OF ALL TIME is The Silmarillion. Among her favorite movies are Gone with the Wind, Nosferatu (1922), Practical Magic, Reign of Fire, Braveheart, Gladiator and Lord of the Rings.
Monica has always lived by the philosophy so eloquently told by Helen Keller: ““Life is either a great adventure or nothing.” She loves the outdoors and is a frequent camper. She also loves the water and in the summer if not poolside, can be found on a boat or jet ski. She also loves snowmobiling and in the winter months can be found with the family on a snowmobile trail in the middle of the forest.
Olivia Matthews
Olivia Matthews is the mystery pseudonym of national best-selling author Patricia Sargeant. Patricia writes romance as Patricia Sargeant and Regina Hart. As Olivia Matthews, she’s written the Sister Lou Mysteries, Peach Coast Library Mysteries, and the Spice Isle Bakery Mysteries. Patricia’s work has been reviewed in national publications such as Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Kirkus Reviews, Suspense Magazine, Mystery Scene Magazine, Library Journal, and RT Book Reviews. Patricia was drawn to write romance because she believes love is the strongest motivation. Her mysteries put ordinary people in extraordinary situations to have them find the Hero Inside. For more information about Patricia and her work, visit PatriciaSargeant.com.
David Matthews
A Discovery of World-Acclaimed Poetess Nikki Giovanni. In 1972 and since then has made a lasting impression in the world of poetry. As a native of Dayton, Ohio, often Matthews has been referred to, as the next Paul Laurence Dunbar. Matthews graduated from Urbana University Urbana, Ohio with a B.S. in Behavioral Science B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Theatre and Creative Writing in 1974. His books are in libraries across the country. If you take a Poetry 101 course from the University of Northern Colorado in Greenly, Colorado or Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee, you will have to study the works of David Matthews.
Over the years Matthews has performed in over 21 different States, at over 300 College and University campuses and in Europe. Matthews has been awarded, the
‘National Poem of the Year Award’ from the Los Angeles, American Poet Society twice. First in 1973 for the poem “America Ain’t You Got No Shame”. Then again in 1976 for the poem “They Say Bicentennial But We Are The Ones That Over Came, Can You Get To That?” He is the only poet to receive the award twice.
Matthews was also awarded the ‘Outstanding Young Man of The Year Award’ in Montgomery, Alabama in 1980. He received the ‘Literary Consciousness Award’ from Northern Kentucky University in 1981. The’ Key to the city of Dayton’ 1982 and the ‘WROU U92 Black Achievement Award’ in 2001. In addition, he received ‘Dayton’s Top 10 African American Award’ in 2006.
Not a stranger to the stage, Matthews has performed with a variety of artist, including Gil Scott-Heron, the group WAR and Grover Washington Jr. He performed for years with his, poetry production company called “An Evening On Broadway with Author, Poet/Musician david Matthews.” He is the author of three books of poetry and a CD: the feel of FEELING 1976, Time Brings About A Change 1980, MESSAGE 1984 and CD – A Poetic Awakening 2002. Barnes & Nobles in 2010 quoted the value of Matthews first published poetry book, the feel of FEELING 1976 an autographed copy at $202. The manuscript was published by Vantage Press in New York City. Matthews is amazingly talented he also plays 19 different African and Latin Percussion instruments. He continues to reach audiences throughout the country and makes an impact in the community through his art.
Jack Matthews
Jack Matthews, author of Etruscan’s The Gambler’s Nephew (2011), grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and served briefly in the U.S. Coast Guard during WWII. He graduated in 1949 from Ohio State University with degrees in English Literature & Classical Greek. He married Barbara Reese in 1947. To support his young and growing family, he worked at a variety of jobs, including 9 years as a post office clerk, during which time he began to publish short stories and eventually, in 1959, began to teach at Urbana (Ohio) College.
In 1964, they moved to Athens, where Matthews joined the English Department at Ohio University. They still live in the country near Athens. He and Barbara have 3 grown children, 7 grown grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren, with another on the way. During Spring 2010, he is teaching one course on his 2nd post-retirement contract, collecting old and rare books, and, of course, writing.
John Matthias
John Matthias was born in 1941 in Columbus, Ohio. For many years he taught at the University of Notre Dame and continues to serve as poetry editor of Notre Dame Review. He has been a Visiting Fellow in poetry at Clare Hall, Cambridge, and lived for much of the 70s and 80s in East Anglia. His books of verse include Turns, Crossing, Northern Summer, A Gathering of Ways, Swimming at Midnight, Beltane at Aphelion, Pages, Working Progress, Working Title, New Selected Poems and Kedging. He has also published translations from the Swedish, editions of David Jones’ work, and a volume of literary criticism, Reading Old Friends. In 1998 Robert Archambeau edited Word Play Place, a selection of essays on Matthias’s work. Another book of essays on his poetry appeared in 2011 in the Salt Companion series, edited by Joe Francis Doerr. Since 2010, Shearsman has republished all of his poetry in the volumes Trigons (2010), Collected Shorter Poems Vol. 2 (2011), Collected Longer Poems (2012) and Collected Shorter Poems Vol. 1 (2013). In 2011 Shearsman also pubished his essay collection, Who was Cousin Alice?
Josef Matulich
Josef Matulich is a writer, artist, and retired mime. His written works include four horror/comedy novels, several short plays and flash fiction, and one poor screenplay perhaps trapped forever in Development Hell. He has built monsters for movies, slit throats on video, and provided magick amulets on the spot. His jobs have ranged from ditchdigging and setting explosives to operating a mass spectrometer in an EPA lab, not to mention several dozen children’s parties Josef lives with his lovely wife Kit in a deer-infested suburb of Columbus Ohio. Together, they also own a semi-haunted vintage and costume shop. Learn more at his website: https://josefmatulich.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JosefMatulciAuthor?ref=hl
Twitter: @JosefMatulich
Courtney Elizabeth Mauk
Courtney Elizabeth Mauk grew up in Copley, Ohio, and studied creative writing at Oberlin College. She holds an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University. Her work has appeared in The Literary Review, PANK, Wigleaf, and FiveChapters, among other publications. She is an assistant editor at Barrelhouse Magazine and teaches at The Juilliard School and The Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop. She lives in Manhattan with her husband.
Susannah Maynard
Susannah Maynard is a lifelong animal lover, animal rescue advocate, and pet photographer. Long before she picked up her first camera, she captured images of the world around her with a pad of paper and a box of crayons. From her early childhood, Susannah was surrounded by a house full of cats, beginning her lifelong love of animals. After trying a variety of careers, from fundraising to publishing, Susannah was at a career crossroads when, in 2011, she adopted her heart dog, Mr. Bojangles, and discovered there was such a profession as pet photographer. Deciding to turn her love of both photography and pets into a career, Pet Love Photography was born. Susannah has spent the last several years photographing hundreds of rescue and client pets. She primarily works on location to make sure that her pet subjects are as comfortable as possible in environments that are familiar to them.
Katie Mazeika
Katie Mazeika is an award-winning author and illustrator who can’t imagine a better job than making books. She loves creating stories based on real people and events. Katie is passionate about highlighting disabled voices in her work. She strongly believes all children should see themselves in books. Katie hopes her work as a creator and advocate creates a space to openly discuss disability and neurodiversity. She does this through presentations, panels, and workshops for educators, kidlit creators, and young readers. You can visit her online at http://www.katiemazeika.com.
T.L. McBeth
T. L. McBeth was born in Findlay, Ohio. As a child, he grew up reading Dr. Seuss and H. A. & Margret Rey (although he mainly looked at the pictures). He studied illustration in college where he developed a love for expressive and minimal characters. In 2015, he moved to New York City to pursue an illustration career and he is currently lucky enough to illustrate picture books full time. He now lives in Bloomington, Indiana and enjoys working from his small home studio in the middle of nowhere. When he does leave the house, he likes to watch the dogs in the neighborhood dog park and visit bookstores for inspiration. He is the illustrator of Stegothesaurus, Triceratopposite, Ogilvy, Ducks! and the Big Words Small Stories series, and the author/illustrator of Robot in Love, the Randy, the Badly Drawn Horse series, and I Am NOT the Easter Bunny! T. L. was previously an artist-in-residence at Wetherby-Pembridge School New York. His work has been featured by Macmillan, Scholastic, Penguin Random House, Threadless, McDonald’s, TODAY, The Wall Street Journal, the Society of Illustrators and is part of the permanent collection of the Mazza Museum.