Born: October 17, 1947Died: April 29, 2019 Ohio connection: Resident Columbus Lee Kittredge Abbott, writer and educator, was a professor of English for more than three decades, teaching at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio for twelve years before transferring to Ohio State University (OSU) in 1989 where he taught until his retirement in 2012. …
Read More Lee K. AbbottBorn: 1944 Ohio connection: Birth Gallipolis Born in Gallipolis and raised across the river in Wheeling, West Virginia, author, designer and illustrator Jan Adkins describes himself as “an explainer, a storyteller with words and images, an advocate for young minds, a resource for images, and a dinosaur holdout for simplicity and grace in illustration, design …
Read More Jan AdkinsBorn: November 21, 1925Died: December 4, 2010 Ohio connection: Former Resident Columbus Robert Wilburn Canzoneri was born in San Marcos, Texas, the son of Joe and Mabel (Barnett) Canzoneri. He received a B.A. degree from Mississippi College in 1948, an M.A. from the University of Mississippi in 1951, and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1965. He married Candyce Barnes. …
Read More Robert Wilburn CanzoneriBorn: November 25, 1899Died: April 25, 1982 Ohio connection: Birth Springfield Although an author of Westerns and a successful screenwriter, William Riley Burnett is best known as the originator of the gangster novel. The underworld icons of sleek cars, flashy clothes, bootleg liquor, and tommy guns find their origins in Burnett’s first novel, Little Caesar (1929). The …
Read More William Riley BurnettBorn: October 23, 1918 Died: July 14, 2011 Ohio connection: Resident Columbus James Potvin Barry was born in Alton, Illinois. From the time he was in high school, he had a deep love of writing, with historical and regional topics his major interest. He attended The Ohio State University, receiving a B.A. degree in 1940. He has …
Read More Barry, James P.Born: October 15, 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 …
Read More Ayres, KatherineBorn: October 25, 1972 Died: February 15, 2019 Columbus Ohio connection: Former Resident Ellis Avery grew up in Columbus, attending the Columbus School for Girls until the age of eleven, when her family moved to New Jersey. Avery is the author of two novels, a memoir and a book of poetry. Her novels, and her work has been translated …
Read More Avery, EllisColumbus Born: October 5, 1955 Ohio connection: Resident The only child of Roy Martin (a farmer and storyteller) and Beulah Read Martin (teacher), Lee Martin was born October 2, 1955. Martin grew up on a farm in Lukin Township, Illinois (Lawrence County). When Lee was only a year old, his father lost both of his hands in …
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