The National Book Festival, sponsored by the Library of Congress, takes place from September 17 to 26, 2021. The great thing about having so much happen online this year is that you can “attend” anytime, either during or after the festival! Some in-person events are taking place in DC, too, like an event with Ohio’s …
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Click on the image above to view the video on Facebook! To celebrate our selection of Other Words for Home as our 2021 National Book Festival Great Reads from Great Places choice, we hosted a conversation between Jasmine Warga and her “hometown librarian” Paula Brehm-Heeger, the Eva Jane Romaine Coombe Director of the Cincinnati and …
Read More In Conversation with Jasmine Warga and Paula Brehm-HeegerBorn: July 3, 1898Died: January 1935 Ohio connection: Birth Defiance Writer, novelist, and journalist Thomas Alexander Boyd was born in Defiance, Ohio, the only child of Alice (nee Dunbar) Boyd and James Alexander Boyd. Due to his father’s death three months before he was born and his mother’s move to Chicago, Illinois, to pursue a nursing …
Read More Thomas BoydBorn: 1950 Ohio Connection: Birth | Resident Steubenville | Perrysville Deborah Fleming is the quintessential Ohio author: born in Steubenville, raised in Bloomingdale, and residing in Perrysville. She is a poet, essayist, novelist, and scholar as well as the current editor (2002-present) and director (2016-present) of the Ashland Poetry Press. Earning her Ph.D. at Ohio …
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Every year since 2002, each Center for the Book has chosen a book – primarily children’s or young adult titles – to represent their state at the National Book Festival as part of the Great Reads from Great Places initiative. In the past, Ohio has chosen Douglas Brinkley, American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the …
Read More Ohio chooses “Other Words for Home” for National Book FestivalBorn: June 12, 1844 Died: June 9, 1878 Ohio connection: Birth New Lexington Januarius A. MacGahan, considered one of the most influential journalist of the 19th century was born on June 12, 1844, near New Lexington, Ohio. The son of James and Ester (nee Dempsey) MacGahan, Januarius was only six years old when his father died, leaving …
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Pride Month provides Ohioans with a chance to either revisit or to learn about all the LGBTQ literary figures that were born in Ohio or have called the Buckeye State home. And before you say, “What about….?!” We acknowledge this is ONLY a small selection! We encourage you to explore well beyond this list… Consider …
Read More Celebrate Pride Month in OhioBorn: June 8, 1928Died: March 8, 2018 Ohio connection: Birth Toledo Kate Wilhelm was born Katie Gertrude Meredith, daughter of Jesse and Ann Meredith, in Toledo, Ohio, in 1928. After graduating from high school in Louisville, Kentucky, she worked as a model, telephone operator, sales clerk, switchboard operator, and underwriter for an insurance company. She …
Read More Kate WilhelmBorn: May 25, 1909Died: February 8, 1993 Ohio connection: Birth Greenville Award-winning author Jean Gould was a prolific writer whose work included books for both children and adults. She is most well-known for her biographies of prominent figures in literature, theater, industry and politics. However, her early writing includes fairy tales, plays, and short stories …
Read More Jean Rosalind GouldBorn: 1958 Ohio connection: Resident Poland Nin Andrews grew up on a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. She received her B.A. in 1980 from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and her MFA in 1995 from Vermont College. In 1982, she married Jim Andrews. Nin Andrews’ work has appeared in many literary journals and anthologies. She is …
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