Author: Ohio Center for the Book

William H. Gass

Born: July 30, 1924Died: December 6, 2017 Ohio connection: Resident Warren William Howard Gass was an educator, essayist, critic, and novelist who valued form and language over plot and character. Known as a leading “experimental writer,” Gass was a prolific writer who wrote novels, novellas, short stories, and essays in literary criticism. Even though it’s …

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Coulton, Mia

Born:1950 Ohio Connection: Resident Shaker Heights Mia Coulton has combined her passion for teaching reading with her love of pets in creating the “Danny” books, which chronicle the escapades and misadventures of Danny, Coulton’s five-year-old Labrador retriever. Danny, who harbors a penchant for Velveeta cheese chunks, is often thwarted in his attempts to sample more substantial …

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Grafton, Sue

Born: April 24, 1940 Died: December 28, 2017 Ohio connection: Former Resident Cincinnati Sue Taylor Grafton was born in Louisville, Kentucky April 24, 1940, to Author C. W. Grafton and Vivian Harnsberger (both of whom were raised in China as children of Presbyterian Missionaries).  Ms. Grafton graduated University of Louisville, BA 1961 with a major in English Literature, …

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Hague, Richard

Born: 1947 Ohio connection: Birth Steubenville Poet and writer Richard Hague was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in Appalachian Ohio’s Mahoning Valley. He earned his B.S. in 1969 and his M.A.in 1971 both at Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH. Hague is the author of more than 10 poetry collections and numerous chapbooks; his collected volume, During the Recent Extinctions: …

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Gup, Ted

Born: 1950 Ohio connection: Birth Canton Ted Gup, a Canton, Ohio native, has been an investigative journalist and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his work for the Washington Post and Time magazine. He taught journalism at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio prior to becoming Chair of the Journalism Department at Emerson College in Boston, MA. …

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Haygood, Wil

Born: 1954 Ohio connection: Birth Columbus Wil Haygood was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1954. His parents divorced soon after his birth and he was raised by his mother, Elvira Burke Haygood, a cook, and his grandparents, whom he credits for teaching him right from wrong.  Haygood graduated from Franklin Heights High School and then attended Miami …

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Chester Himes

Born: July 29, 1909Died: November 12, 1984 Ohio connection: Former Resident Cleveland Chester Bomar Himes was a writer who is best remembered for his hardboiled detective novels set in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. In his lifetime, Himes published seventeen novels, 60 short stories and two autobiographies that explore labor relations, violence, and racism. Born in …

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