News

The 16th Ohioana Book Festival is coming in April . . . and you’re invited! The 2022 festival will be held virtually from April 29 through May 1. As we have done for the past two years, we decided to present the festival in this format to keep everyone safe as the pandemic continues. We’re delighted that we will still ... Read More

The Ohioana Library has been giving awards to recognize outstanding literary achievement since 1942. But 2021’s event was truly special as we virtually celebrated the awards’ 80th anniversary! Ohioana’s Executive Director, David Weaver, served as master of ceremonies, with help from Ohioana board members and representatives of sponsors who introduced the award winners. The award ceremony began with the presentation ... Read More

The Ohioana Library Association is excited to announce that its Ohio Literary Trail has expanded with the addition of seven new sites honoring Ohio literary greats. Introduced in 2020, the Ohio Literary Trail connects readers and Ohio writers and shines the spotlight on Ohio’s unique role in shaping culture and literature worldwide. Among the notable Ohioans honored with new sites ... Read More

Ohioana Book Awards First given in 1942, the Ohioana Book Awards are the second oldest, and among the most prestigious, state literary prizes in the nation. Nearly every major writer from Ohio in the past 80 years has been honored, from James Thurber to Toni Morrison. Six of the Ohioana Award winners, as well as the Marvin Grant recipient, were ... Read More

For the virtual 2021 Ohioana Book Festival, we partnered with illustrator and paper engineer Merrill Rainey to create a fun contest for kids featuring his two books, Color, Cut, Create – Dinosaur World and Horse Ranch. The contest kick-off took place during the virtual festival weekend and included a live discussion and Q&A with Merrill. (There’s still time to join ... Read More

The Ohioana Library is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2021 Ohioana Book Awards. First given in 1942, the awards are the second-oldest state literary prizes in the nation and honor outstanding works by Ohio authors and illustrators in five categories: Fiction, Poetry, Juvenile Literature, Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature, and Nonfiction. The sixth category, About Ohio or an Ohioan, ... Read More

A Conversation with Sophia R. Klein Ohioana is excited to welcome author Sophia R. Klein as part of the Ohioana Book Festival this year. Sophia is our youngest-ever festival author, at just fourteen years old. She was motivated to write and illustrate her book, Turtle Tide, by her love of marine life. Her fascination with the sea began at the ... Read More

Stepping into an exhibit of Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson’s work is like visiting a multi-layered landscape of colors and textures. Her art is a combination of 2D and 3D pieces that include paint, writing, textiles and everyday objects such as beads and buttons – sometimes, all of these at once. Robinson was born in 1940 in the community of Poindexter ... Read More

The passing of Toni Morrison in August 2019 at the age of 88 opened a floodgate of tributes from around the world. The native of Lorain, Ohio, had climbed heights no other American writer of the past half-century had achieved, winning every major award from the Pulitzer Prize to the Presidential Medal of Freedom and, in 1993, the Nobel Prize ... Read More

Election day – exciting for some, nerve wracking for most. This year, we’ve watched election day turn into election week as we wait for the results of a tight presidential race. As we’re waiting, it’s easy to get caught up in speculation and anxiety. If that is what you’re feeling this week, you’re not alone. Thankfully, one of the best ... Read More