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): Fiction
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Neil Carpathios

Neil Carpathios is the author of three full-length poetry collections: Playground of Flesh (runner-up in the Main Street Rag Press Book Competition), At the Axis of Imponderables (winner of the Quercus Review Press Book Award), and Beyond the Bones (runner-up in the FutureCycle Press Book Competition). He also has published several award-winning chapbooks.…Read More

Neil Carpathios is the author of three full-length poetry collections: Playground of Flesh (runner-up in the Main Street Rag Press Book Competition), At the Axis of Imponderables (winner of the Quercus Review Press Book Award), and Beyond the Bones (runner-up in the FutureCycle Press Book Competition). He also has published several award-winning chapbooks. The recipient of fellowships and grants from the Ohio Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, he teaches and is Coordinator of Creative Writing at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Photo of Rae Carson

Rae Carson

Rae Carson is a young adult novelist. Her debut novel, The Girl of Fire and Thorns received the first official Ohioana Young Adult Book Award. Publishers Weekly’s starred review of The Girl of Fire and Thorns. It was named one of ALA’s Top Ten Fiction for Young Adults books for 2011 and finalist for the Morris, Cybils, and Andre Norton Awards.…Read More

Rae Carson is a young adult novelist. Her debut novel, The Girl of Fire and Thorns received the first official Ohioana Young Adult Book Award. Publishers Weekly’s starred review of The Girl of Fire and Thorns. It was named one of ALA’s Top Ten Fiction for Young Adults books for 2011 and finalist for the Morris, Cybils, and Andre Norton Awards. The second book in the trilogy, The Crown of Embers, released in September 2012, also received a Publishers Weekly starred review and readers praise. Carson grew up in California and always wanted to be a storyteller. In 2004, Rae joined the Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror where she found her calling, made many friends, and met her future husband. She now lives in Arizona with her husband, noted author C.C. Finlay, and step-sons. Visit Rae’s website at http://www.raecarson.com/.

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Sarah Anne Carter

Sarah Anne Carter is a lover of books. She is an avid reader and is a book review blogger. Writing stories since she was little, she is constantly thinking of ideas that could be used as a plot for a novel. She is a journalist by trade and has written numerous newspaper articles. She has also worked in the public relations and marketing fields.…Read More

Sarah Anne Carter is a lover of books. She is an avid reader and is a book review blogger. Writing stories since she was little, she is constantly thinking of ideas that could be used as a plot for a novel. She is a journalist by trade and has written numerous newspaper articles. She has also worked in the public relations and marketing fields. She grew up as an Air Force brat and has lived in many states and countries. Currently residing in Ohio, she spends her time enjoying her family, reading and writing. She is a lover of travel and cats.

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Jody Casella

Jody Casella is a former high school English teacher. Her first novel, Thin Space, a paranormal YA mystery published by Beyond Words/Simon & Schuster, received a starred review from Kirkus. She lives with her husband and two teenagers in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to writing books, she visits schools, libraries, and book clubs to talk about the creative/revision process.…Read More

Jody Casella is a former high school English teacher. Her first novel, Thin Space, a paranormal YA mystery published by Beyond Words/Simon & Schuster, received a starred review from Kirkus. She lives with her husband and two teenagers in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to writing books, she visits schools, libraries, and book clubs to talk about the creative/revision process. Visit her website at http://www.jodycasella.com.

David Catrow

David Catrow is the writer and illustrator of the Scholastic Easy-Reader series Max Spaniel, inspired by the life and stories of a dear family pet. He created the visual development for the 20th Century Fox feature Horton Hears a Who (2008). Throughout his career David has written or illustrated over seventy notable and award winning books and has twice been honored by the New York Times with the Best Illustrated Book of the Year award. …Read More

David Catrow is the writer and illustrator of the Scholastic Easy-Reader series Max Spaniel, inspired by the life and stories of a dear family pet. He created the visual development for the 20th Century Fox feature Horton Hears a Who (2008). Throughout his career David has written or illustrated over seventy notable and award winning books and has twice been honored by the New York Times with the Best Illustrated Book of the Year award.  In 2009, David was presented the Isaac Scott Hathaway Award in recognition of his body of work. In a past life, David was a nine-time winner of the Cox Award for editorial cartooning and has been syndicated to more than 900 newspapers, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today.  He lives in Springfield with his wife Deborah and their dogs Beetle, Blu, and Tubbs.

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Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar

Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar is an Indian American writer. Born to a middle-class family in India, she later migrated to the USA with her husband and son. She currently lives in the suburbs of Ohio. She is a technologist by profession and a writer by passion. Her stories and poems have appeared in numerous publications, print and online.…Read More

Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar is an Indian American writer. Born to a middle-class family in India, she later migrated to the USA with her husband and son. She currently lives in the suburbs of Ohio. She is a technologist by profession and a writer by passion. Her stories and poems have appeared in numerous publications, print and online. Her work has been selected for Best Small Fictions 2022. She won first place in ELJ Micro Creative Non-Fiction Prize, placed in the Strands International Flash Fiction Festival. and is the runner-up for the Chestnut Review Chapbook Contest. Her stories have been shortlisted in the Bath Flash Fiction Awards and SmokeLong Micro Competition. She is currently a Prose Editor at Janus Literary and a Submissions Editor at SmokeLong Quarterly. Her debut flash fiction collection “Morsels of Purple” was released in 2021. More at https://saraspunyfingers.com. Reach her @PunyFingers

Dan Chaon

Dan Chaon is a novelist and O. Henry Award-winning short story writer. His Await Your Reply was named one of the Ten Best Books of 2009 by Publisher’s Weekly. In 2001, he was a National Book Award finalist for his collection of short stories entitled Among the Missing.…Read More

Dan Chaon is a novelist and O. Henry Award-winning short story writer. His Await Your Reply was named one of the Ten Best Books of 2009 by Publisher’s Weekly. In 2001, he was a National Book Award finalist for his collection of short stories entitled Among the Missing. He was honored by the American Academy of Arts & Letters in 2006, and in 2009 was selected as a “Choose to Read Ohio” author for his book You Remind Me of Me. Chaon lives in Cleveland Heights and teaches creative writing at Oberlin College.

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e.E. Charlton-Trujillo

Described as "a force of nature" by Kirkus Reviews, author, filmmaker and youth literacy activist e.E. Charlton-Trujillo has written several books for teens and children, most notably the ALA Winning and Choose to Read Ohio series Fat Angie. Their celebrated co-authored picture books with NYT Bestseller Pat Zietlow Miller include: Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules, Lupe Lopez: Reading Rock Star, and A Girl Can Build Anything.…Read More

Described as “a force of nature” by Kirkus Reviews, author, filmmaker and youth literacy activist e.E. Charlton-Trujillo has written several books for teens and children, most notably the ALA Winning and Choose to Read Ohio series Fat Angie. Their celebrated co-authored picture books with NYT Bestseller Pat Zietlow Miller include: Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules, Lupe Lopez: Reading Rock Star, and A Girl Can Build Anything. Trujillo’s short fiction appeared in the Read Across America selection Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican In America and the lauded anthology The Collectors edited by A.S. King. They are the co-founder of the literacy nonprofit Never Counted Out and a Madriana with Las Musas.

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Craig M. Chavis , Jr.

Craig M. Chavis Jr. is an award-winning author and interdisciplinary coach on a mission to help entrepreneurs discover, embrace, and transform their purpose into profits. At the core of Craig’s coaching philosophy lies the mantra – Become the Entrepreneur of Your Life. Through this lens, he coaches through an alternative and holistic perspective cultivated from over a decade of first-hand experience launching and managing multiple businesses in Ghana, Costa Rica, Peru, and the United States of America.…Read More

Craig M. Chavis Jr. is an award-winning author and interdisciplinary coach on a mission to help entrepreneurs discover, embrace, and transform their purpose into profits. At the core of Craig’s coaching philosophy lies the mantra – Become the Entrepreneur of Your Life. Through this lens, he coaches through an alternative and holistic perspective cultivated from over a decade of first-hand experience launching and managing multiple businesses in Ghana, Costa Rica, Peru, and the United States of America. He is a serial entrepreneur, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, a former division-1 collegiate athlete, and received his BSBA from Samford University and MBA from the University of Tampa. Craig is also a super foodie, world traveler, lifelong learner, and currently resides in Columbus, OH.

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Kara H.L. Chen

Kara H.L. Chen is a Taiwanese American writer who received her MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College. She is the author of LOVE & RESISTANCE (Quill Tree/Harper Collins, 2023) and ASKING FOR A FRIEND (Quill Tree/HarperCollins, 7/23/24). She grew up in Ohio but now lives with her husband and two daughters in Northern California. She can be found online at karahlchen.com.Read More

Kara H.L. Chen is a Taiwanese American writer who received her MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College. She is the author of LOVE & RESISTANCE (Quill Tree/Harper Collins, 2023) and ASKING FOR A FRIEND (Quill Tree/HarperCollins, 7/23/24). She grew up in Ohio but now lives with her husband and two daughters in Northern California. She can be found online at karahlchen.com.

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