News

The Ohioana Library Association thanks everyone who has expressed their views and concerns regarding diversity in our programming, particularly the 2018 Ohioana Book Awards held last October at the Ohio Statehouse, and the 2019 Ohioana Book Festival, held on April 27 at Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Main Library. This year marks Ohioana’s 90th anniversary. Throughout our history, Ohioana has served diverse ... Read More

(Ellis Avery at the 2013 Ohioana Book Festival, photo credit Elizabeth Nihiser) March is Women’s History Month, and today happens to be International Women’s Day. So it seems fitting to pay tribute to one extraordinary woman and writer, Ellis Avery. Sadly, Ellis passed away on February 15, at the young age of 46. In 2002, Ellis received the Ohioana Walter ... Read More

A near capacity crowd was on hand February 20 as Ohioana presented, “From Prison to Prominence: The Life and Literary Work of Chester Himes” at the Martin Luther King, Jr. branch of Columbus Metropolitan Library. Author Yolonda Tonette Sanders, the creator of the “Protective Detective” mystery series, conceived the program, in which she “interviewed” Chester Himes, portrayed by Columbus actor ... Read More

We can all use a little more poetry in our lives … maybe a LOT more poetry. And since we want everyone who reads the Ohioana Quarterly to become familiar with our Ohio poets, we want more poetry reviews. We’ve been thinking about how to get more of those reviews into the OQ, so we’re taking a moment here in ... Read More

Tomorrow is #GivingTuesday, an inspiring day of generosity across the globe. We hope you’ll support your favorite nonprofit organizations, including the Ohioana Library Association. Celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2019, Ohioana connects thousands of readers with Ohio writers through programs including the Ohioana Book Festival, the Ohioana Awards, and the Ohioana Quarterly, and promotes our state as one of America’s great ... Read More

…and Ohioana is feeling thankful! 2018 has been a banner year for the Ohioana Library Association. To our supporters, partners, patrons, friends, volunteers, board, staff, and fans, we cannot thank you enough for continuing to support Ohioana year after year. As we head into Ohioana’s 90th Anniversary year, we hope to continue to bring together Ohio readers and writers with ... Read More

Are you an author who was born in Ohio or has lived in Ohio for five or more years? Have you published a book in the last year? Then fill out an application to attend the 2019 Ohioana Book Festival – and hurry, the deadline is coming up on November 15th! The Ohioana Book Festival is an annual celebration of ... Read More

Have you ever wanted to tell everyone about a book that you really, really like? Maybe the book hasn’t gotten enough attention. Maybe the book’s Ohio connection isn’t very well known and you’d like to fix that. Now’s your chance to spread the word: become a reviewer for the Ohioana Quarterly and let the world know about great books! The ... Read More

It’s Banned Books Week! BBW is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings ... Read More

Although autumn doesn’t officially start until September 22nd, it certainly already feels as if the seasons have changed. The chilly, rainy weather of this past week might bring to mind thoughts of changing leaves, pumpkin pie and shorter days. Here at Ohioana, it also reminds us of the myriad of literary events that happen around the state during the autumn. ... Read More