Category: Fiction

Conrad Richter

Born: October 13, 1890Died: October 30, 1968Ohio connection: Resident Cleveland Conrad Michael Richter was born October 13, 1890, in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, and grew up in a series of tiny coal mining towns with his parents: John Absalom, a Lutheran minister, and Charlotte Esther (Henry) Richter. Richter’s formal schooling ended when he graduated from high school …

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James Renner

Born: 1978 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland James Renner, novelist, freelance journalist, and former newspaper editor, graduated from Kent State University in 2000 with a degree in English. He has also taught creative writing. Renner’s nonfiction books focus on unsolved crimes and strange stories from Ohio. While working as a staff writer for the alternative weekly, Cleveland Scene …

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Dawn Powell

Born: November 28, 1896Died:  November 14, 1965 Ohio connection: Birth Mount Gilead Novelist and playwright Dawn Powell, daughter of Roy K. and Hattie B. (Sherman) Powell, was born in 1896 in Mount Gilead, Ohio. Because her father was a traveling salesman and her mother died when Dawn was only six years old, the young Dawn was …

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Shelley Pearsall

Born: 1966 Ohio connection: Birth Silver Lake A native Ohioan, Shelley Pearsall has enjoyed writing and history since childhood. Before publishing, she was a public school teacher and a museum historian. In her spare time, she wrote historical scripts and short stories for Cleveland-area museums. Shelley Pearsall’s work and writing often has been influenced by her love …

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Susan Orlean

Born: 1955 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Susan Orlean is the daughter of Arthur and Edith Gross Orlean. In 1976, she obtained her B.A. from the University of Michigan. From 1983-1986, she was a staff writer for the Boston Phoenix. After a year spent with The Boston Globe as a columnist, she has been, since 1987, an editor for Rolling Stone …

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Robert Olmstead

Born: 1954 Ohio connection: Resident Delaware Accomplished writer and professor, Robert M. Olmstead is the son of James Paul (a factory worker) and Adeline Olmstead.  He was raised on a six generation dairy farm near Keene, New Hampshire not far from the banks of the Connecticut River. He has authored the novels America by Land, A Trail of Heart’s …

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Andre Norton

Born: February 17, 1912Died: March 17, 2005 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Andre Norton was born Alice May Norton on February 17, 1912, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Freely Norton, a rug salesman, and Bertha Stemm Norton. She attended Collinwood High School where she wrote for the school newspaper. Intending to become a history teacher, she attended Western Reserve …

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Nelson, Marilyn

Born: 1946 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Dr. Marilyn Nelson, daughter of Melvin M. Nelson, (U.S.A.F. airman) and Johnnie Mitchell Nelson (teacher) was born in Cleveland.  Nelson began writing in childhood.  She earned her B.A. from the University of California, Davis, and holds postgraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (M.A., 1970) and the University of Minnesota (Ph.D., …

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