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.
Marilyn Seguin
Marilyn Weymouth Seguin is the author of fifteen books, many of them Ohio-based historical fiction and nonfiction for young readers. She teaches in the Writing Program of the English Department at Kent State University. When she is not helping her students with their writing, she is busily crafting another story. Marilyn lives with her husband Rollie and little dog Jerzee in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and Gray, Maine.
David M. Selcer
DAVID SELCER graduated from Northwestern University where he studied in the Medill School of Journalism. He then obtained a law degree from the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, and practiced immigration, labor and civil rights law in Columbus, Ohio for 35 years. His book, LINCOLN’S HAT and the TEA MOVEMENT’S ANGER, won first place in the Chanticleer Reviews Best book competition in 2017, and he is the author of four mysteries in the Buckeye Barrister Series: DEADLY AUDIT; DEAD BUT STILL TICKING; MUSCLES, MUSIC AND MURDER; and, DREAM CATCHER MURDERS.
Kenneth Sewell
During the Cold War years, Kenneth R. Sewell served aboard the USS Parche, a fast attack submarine that was the Navy’s most decorated ship. Parche conducted a number of special operations, some of which were revealed in Blind Man’s Bluff, The Story of American Submarine Espionage. Since leaving the Navy, Mr. Sewell has remained connected to the US military and intelligence community.…
Read MoreDuring the Cold War years, Kenneth R. Sewell served aboard the USS Parche, a fast attack submarine that was the Navy’s most decorated ship. Parche conducted a number of special operations, some of which were revealed in Blind Man’s Bluff, The Story of American Submarine Espionage. Since leaving the Navy, Mr. Sewell has remained connected to the US military and intelligence community. He has held both Department of Defense and Department of Energy security clearances and has participated in a number of projects for the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. He is the primary author of the New York Times bestseller Red Star Rogue, All Hands Down (Simon & Schuster), and co-author of Code Name Caesar (Berkley/Penguin). Sewell collaborated with director Todd Robinson to create the full length feature film Phantom, which is based on Red Star Rogue and stars Ed Harris, David Duchovny and William Fichtner. A Buckeye by birth and graduate of Urbana University, he currently resides in Gahanna, Ohio.
Bev Shaffer
Bev Shaffer is an author, food writer, and culinary instructor. Her weekly column “Ask Bev” in the Cleveland Plain Dealer food section and her weekly radio spot on Akron, Ohio’s WAKR’s “Morning Drive Time” feature her signature humor and her uncanny ability to create uncomplicated recipes and calm food and cooking phobias. She has developed more than eight thousand recipes on a wide variety of subjects, including seafood, sides and grains, and desserts.…
Read MoreBev Shaffer is an author, food writer, and culinary instructor. Her weekly column “Ask Bev” in the Cleveland Plain Dealer food section and her weekly radio spot on Akron, Ohio’s WAKR’s “Morning Drive Time” feature her signature humor and her uncanny ability to create uncomplicated recipes and calm food and cooking phobias. She has developed more than eight thousand recipes on a wide variety of subjects, including seafood, sides and grains, and desserts. She has also received many national and local commendations and more than one hundred cooking awards, including the Ohio Dietetic Association Outstanding Contribution Award. Born and raised in North Brunswick, New Jersey, Chef Shaffer resides in Seville, Ohio.
Margie Shaheed
Margie Shaheed is a community poet, writer and teaching artist. She is the author of three chapbooks, Mosaic, Onomonopoeia, and Playground. She is currently completing a non-fiction book, Tongue Shakers: Interviews and Narratives on Speaking Mother Tongue in a Multicultural Society.
Janet Shailer
Janet Shailer received a B.A. from Bowling Green State University in 1971. In her early career, Shailer worked as a broadcast engineer for two NBC-TV affiliated TV stations and Warner Qube’s cable TV network. Later she worked as a videographer/writer/producer of public affairs programming for Columbus Community Cable Access. Her writing career includes working as a contributing editor for Television Broadcast magazine and writing for other national and regional magazines.
She worked as editor of the Southwest Messenger newspaper for nine years, and spent another five as a reporter/photographer. She co-authored two books, with Laura Lanese, for Arcadia Publishing – Images of America: Grove City and Images of Modern America: Grove City, and has written a novel. She serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Southwest Public Libraries.
Prince Shakur
Prince Shakur is a queer, Jamaican-American freelance journalist, cultural essayist, and grassroots organizer with a BA in Creative Writing from Ohio University. His words have been featured in Teen Vogue, Catapult, Level, Electric Lit, and more. In addition, Shakur is the proud writer in residence at Sangam House, Twelve Arts, The Studios of Key West, and La Maison Baldwin. Learn more: https://www.princeshakur.com/
Mike Shannon
Mike Shannon is the author of more than 20 baseball books and the editor and publisher of Spitball: The Literary Baseball Magazine. He has written a monthly column for Reds Report for more than 20 years.
Patricia Ann Shaw
Patricia Ann Shaw is a full-time travel agent born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. Although travel is her passion, she’s always had a dream to publish a children’s book but could never decide on a topic. In December, 2022, the Shaw’s adopted a cute little Cavapoo doggy named Wally. From that point on, Wally provided plenty of material for a story that just had to be told about his silly antics. In April 2024, her first book Wild Wally was published by Sunsational Publishers, Inc. Patricia’s plan is to publish more books about Wild Wally. The next book idea is to link her travel passion with the crazy antics of Wild Wally. Maybe Wild Wally Goes On Vacation?
Hugh Sheehy
Hugh Sheehy is a lecturer at Yeshiva College and has previously taught at Kennesaw State University and Georgia State University. Sheehy received his MFA in creative writing from the University of Alabama. His stories have appeared in publications including Glimmer Train, Kenyon Review, and Best American Mystery Stories. (Photo by Liz Ligon)