Born: October 23, 1918Died: July 14, 2011 Ohio connection: Resident Columbus Author, writer, photographer, and illustrator James P. Barry was born in Alton, Illinois. At the age of eight, he took his first ride on a Great Lakes freighter and, soon after, learned to sail a Mackinaw boat. He graduated from University High School in Normal, Illinois, …
Read More James P. BarryBorn: July 28, 1932Died: October 31, 2016 Ohio connection: Birth Dayton Born Natalie Zane Moore on July 28, 1932 in Dayton, Ohio, esteemed writer and illustrator Natalie Zane Babbitt was inspired by Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations in Alice in Wonderland to work with pen and ink, which became her specialty. She graduated from the Laurel School, a private academy for …
Read More Natalie Zane Moore BabbittBorn: 1954 Ohio connection: Resident Granville David Baker was born in Bangor, Maine, and grew up in Central Missouri where he earned a B.S.E. in 1976 and an M.A. in 1977. After earning a Ph.D. from the University of Utah in 1983, Baker made his way to Ohio to teach English as an assistant professor at …
Read More David Anthony BakerBorn: 1954 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Heights Sarah Willis, daughter of actor/director Kirk Willis, was born in 1954 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Her father died when she was twelve, and she began writing poetry partly as a way of dealing with his death. She dropped out of high school at age sixteen, and later attended the …
Read More Willis, SarahBorn: 1961 Ohio connection: Birth Bryan Mark Winegardner, chosen by Random House from among three dozen candidates to continue the Godfather saga created by Mario Puzo, was born and raised in Bryan, Ohio. Named one of the “100 Best Small Towns in America” by author Norman Crampton, Bryan, situated in Ohio’s northwestern corner near the Indiana …
Read More Winegardner, MarkBorn: 1947 Ohio connection: Birth Columbus Katherine Ayres was born in Columbus to Ray and Betty Kent. Ayres has been a lover of books since early childhood, when she began inventing stories before she could write them. Ayres completed her undergraduate studies at the College of Wooster and earned an M.A. from Tufts University. Her childhood home state …
Read More Katherine AyresBorn: October 25, 1972 Died: February 15, 2019 Ohio Connection: Resident Columbus Born Elizabeth Atwood on October 25, 1972, Ellis Avery was raised in Columbus, Ohio. She attended the Columbus School for Girls until the age of eleven, when her family moved to Princeton, New Jersey. She legally changed her name to Ellis Avery when …
Read More Ellis AveryBorn: 1926 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Poet, playwright, editor, and composer Russell Atkins was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Perry Kelly and Mamie Bell Atkins. Admired for his “brilliant, idiosyncratic poetry and wide-ranging intellect,” Atkins’ writings challenged conventions of both form and content in poetry, drama, and literary theory. A leading innovator in experimental arts from …
Read More Russell AtkinsBorn: October 31, 1876Died: February 2, 1972 Ohio connection: Birth Dayton Natalie Clifford Barney was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1876, the daughter of Albert Clifford and Alice Pike Barney. She was educated at Les Ruches boarding school in Fountainbleau, France, and completed finishing school at Miss Ely’s School for Girls in New York City. She …
Read More Natalie Clifford BarneyBorn: December 25, 1900Died: May 11, 1975 Ohio connection: Birth Mansfield Author and historian Paul McClelland Angle was born on December 25, 1900, in Mansfield, Ohio. Angle graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1922 with a degree in history and earned a master’s degree from the University of Illinois in 1924. In order to …
Read More Paul M. Angle