I chose Ohio for this installment of The Lois Level Reads the States because I found that Ohioans are one of our most consistent readers! So let me start by saying “thank you” to the State of Ohio!
What I discovered is that Ohioans provide us all with a very nice range of fiction, but I didn’t find much in some other categories, so if you have some suggestions, let us know!
Considering Ohio is part of the American “Heartland”, where you think of everyone as being cheerful and friendly…open and up front…I found two things kind of surprising:
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There are a lot horror, mystery, and dystopian books set in Ohio.
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There are some really good young adult authors from Ohio…who also produce their share of horror, dystopian, and mystery.
Ohio, the country wants to know: What goes on there???
I’ve read (and taught) Beloved, so I know how messed up (in a good way…obviously it’s a masterpiece) that is, and why…what I didn’t know is that Beloved is only the tip of the iceberg…y’all have horror books set in Amish country as well as Ohio’s urban areas.
Of course, the men who literally taught us to fly (the Wright Brothers) came from Ohio, so I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised!
You can find previous posts from this series by clicking on the Category “State Reads”.
Check the bottom of the column for our selection criteria, and please let us know what we missed.
As a rule, only one book by each author is listed (because some have produced dozens), so check the author’s bibliography if you see something interesting…very often there is more! We choose either the author’s most famous/recognized book or the bestseller.
Books Written by Ohioans and Set in Ohio
Novels
Toni Morrison
Morrison was born in Lohrain. Beloved is a masterpiece but tough to read because of the divergent points of view, shifts in time, and use of stream of consciousness. If it’s too much for you, try her earlier book, The Bluest Eye.
Sherwood Anderson
Anderson was born in Camden.
Jennifer Crusie
Crusie was born in Wapakoneta.
Celeste Ng
Ng grew up in Shaker Heights.
Read The Lois Level A Perfect Life with “Little Fires Everywhere”: the book by Celeste Ng
Helen Hooven Santmeyer
Santmeyer was born in Cinncinati.
Curtis Sittenfeld
Sittenfeld was born in Cincinnati.
Conrad Richter
Richter lived in Cleveland.
Robb Forman Dew
Dew is from Mount Vernon.
Andrew Welsh Huggins
Huggins lives in Columbus.
Donald Ray Pollock
Pollock was born in Ross County.
Zane Grey
Grey was born in Zanesville.
Les Roberts
Roberts lives in Stow.
Linda Castillo
Castillo is from Arcanum.
Emilie Richards
Richards has lived in numerous states, including Ohio.
Kristen Lepionka
Lepionka lives in Columbus.
Craig Holden
Holden is from Toledo.
William H. Gass
Gass grew up in Warren.
Mark Winegardner
Winegardner is from Bryan.
David Bell
Bell is from Cincinnati.
Shelley Shephard Gray
Gray lives in Southern Ohio.
Toni Blake
Toni Blake has lived in Cincinnati.
Tiffany McDaniel
Pittacus Lore
Lore is from Cleveland.
Poetry
Memoir
Nonfiction
Louis Bromfield
Bromfield was born in Mansfield.
Selected Books Written for Older Children and Young Adults
Lois Lenski
Lois Lenski, author and illustrator, was born in Springfield. Her first book, Skipping Village, is about her childhood in Ohio, but she is famous for her picture books and most especially her Newbery Award and Honor Books.
She won the Newbery Award for Strawberry Girl, which is set in north Florida.
Read more about her on The Lois Level here: Lois Lenski’s exquisite portraits of 20th century America’s hidden children
Virginia Hamilton
Virginia Hamilton was born in Dayton. Her family came to Ohio through the Underground Railroad.
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Haddix grew up in between Washington City Court House and Sabina.
Angela Johnson
Johnson grew up in Windham.
Robert McCloskey
McCloskey was born in Hamilton. You might know him for his more famous picture books, including Make Way for Ducklings, but his Homer Price is set in Ohio.
Kristina McBride
McBride grew up in Dayton.
Books Written by Ohioans but not Set in Ohio
Novels
Sue Grafton
Grafton wrote A is for Alibi while living in Columbus.
Thank you to reader Paula Cotter for your letting us know! What an important author to miss!
Scott Smith
Smith is from Toledo.
Brand Whitlock
Whitlock was born in Urbana and was a four time mayor of Toledo.
Poetry
Memoir
Nonfiction
Mark Dawidziak
Dawidziak has lived and worked in Akron.
Julie Zickefoose
Zickefoose lives in Whipple.
Books set in Ohio but written by Non-Ohioans
Novels
Stephen King
Kim Harrison
Philip Roth
Kurt Vonnegut
William Wells Brown
Brown was the first African American to publish a novel, which is based on the rumors (now proven true) that Thomas Jefferson fathered children with one of his slaves.
See The Lois Level Reads Virginia for biography and history about this topic.
Tracy Chevalier
Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Janet Dailey
Kim Harrison
Please let me know if you know where Kim Harrison is from because I couldn’t find out.
I know Kim Harrison is a pen name.
Nonfiction
David McCullough
Selected Books Written for Older Children and Young Adults
Valerie Tripp
Jeannine Garsee
Linda Zinnen
I can’t find Linda Zinnen online; please let me know if she is from Ohio.
Neal Shusterman
Ohio state welcome sign, along US Route 30, entering from Indiana, 12 August 2006 ErgoSum88 / Public domain
How we picked these books:
Please comment at the bottom or on Facebook with suggestions. The idea is to make each state’s page as complete as possible but focused enough so that the page gives the reader an overall sense of place. Guidelines: In the case where the author has written several books set in the state, the most famous or recently published one will be selected.
Multiple books will be shown only if there is a reason to do so (e.g. significant topics, different genres, etc.). The author may be listed in more than one category, usually because the author’s most famous book is not set in the state. The famous book is listed to help readers recognize the author, but additional, less well known books, will be listed for those who want to read more about the state.
The intended audience for the The Lois Level is adult general readers, so books considered primarily for academic use will not be listed. For the same reason, authors who are completely out of print will usually not be included. Children’s books are limited to those that have adult appeal. Normally picture books are not included.
Recent and significant biographies of state notables are included with priority given to those written by state natives/residents or to individuals whose major contributions were state related.
Biographical Information
Wikipedia and author web pages are the primary sources for author information. If the author has several connections, usually the earliest one (birth, childhood) is used.