Born: 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: February 25, 1926 Died: August 15, 2024 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 …
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. AngleBorn: September 23, 1838 Died: June 9, 1927 Ohio connection: Birth Homer Victoria Woodhull was a suffragist and feminist writer who was a passionate campaigner for social justice. She was the first American woman to address the U.S. Congress and ran for President of the United States. Born Victoria Claflin in 1838 in the small …
Read More Victoria WoodhullBorn: 1964 Ohio connection: Birth Columbus Jacqueline Woodson was born in 1964 in Columbus, Ohio. She grew up in Greenville, South Carolina and Brooklyn, New York. She received a B.A. in English from Adelphia University in 1985, and also studied at the New School for Social Research. Writing has been a passion for Woodson since childhood. …
Read More Woodson, JacquelineBorn: 1936 Ohio connection: Resident Oberlin Born in Davenport, Iowa, David Young earned his undergraduate degree from Carleton College in 1958. Later Young earned an M.A. and a doctorate degree from Yale University. Until his retirement in 2003, David Young was Longman Professor of English at Oberlin College, where he continues to work as the editor …
Read More Young, DavidBorn: 1969 Ohio connection: Resident Cincinnati Born in 1969, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer and her identical twin sister, Trish grew up in West Chester, Ohio, where three generations of her family still reside. Vaughn Zimmer majored in Special Education at The Ohio State University earning a B.A. and received her master’s degree in reading from Miami University …
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