Author: Ohio Center for the Book

Richard Montanari

Born: 1955 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Richard Montanari was born in Cleveland, Ohio, into an Italian-American family.  He attended Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Institute of Art. He lived for a time in England selling encyclopedias and clothing. He eventually returned to the States, where begun his writing career. Richard has written many mystery novels, the first …

Read More Richard Montanari

Zakes Mda

Born: 1948 Ohio connection: Resident Athens A novelist and playwright, Zakes Mda has won every major South African literary prize. He is the author of six novels, among them Ways of Dying (winner of the M-Net Award for best novel and the Olive Schreiner Prize), The Heart of Redness (winner of the Hurston/Wright LEGACY Award for Fiction; a New York Times …

Read More Zakes Mda

Paula McLain

Born: 1965 Ohio connection: Resident Cleveland Paula McLain was born in Fresno, California in 1965. After being abandoned by both parents, she and her two sisters became wards of the California Court System, moving in and out of various foster homes for the next fourteen years. After aging out of the system, she supported herself by working …

Read More Paula McLain

Erin McGraw

Born: 1957 Ohio connection: Resident Columbus Erin McGraw was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Eva Marie and C. Thomas McGraw. She attended the University of California-Davis, earning an A.B. in 1979, and Indiana University-Bloomington, where she earned her M.F.A. in 1986. McGraw’s first two books, Bodies at Sea (1989) and Lies of the Saints, …

Read More Erin McGraw