Ohioana Book Festival is largest one-day event focused on Ohio books and authors

The Columbus main library, built in 1901 with a grant from industrialist Andrew Carnegie, re-opens this week after a $35 million renovation. Columbus, Dayton, Cuyahoga County and other public library systems are undergoing a building and renovation boom as libraries adapt to current customer needs.

Credit: Laura Bischoff

Credit: Laura Bischoff

The Columbus main library, built in 1901 with a grant from industrialist Andrew Carnegie, re-opens this week after a $35 million renovation. Columbus, Dayton, Cuyahoga County and other public library systems are undergoing a building and renovation boom as libraries adapt to current customer needs.

The annual Ohioana Book Festival, which is free to everyone, will include appearance by authors who are Dayton natives.

The event is at the Columbus Metropolitan Main Library on April 20 and has books available for purchase, appearances by notable Ohio writers, activities for children and a variety of panels focusing on reading and writing. It will run from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Some of the authors scheduled to appear this year are Dayton natives Erin Flanagan and Katrina Kittle, plus Keturah Bobo, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Sarah Stankorb, David Giffels and more.

Erin Flanagan, professor of English and literatures at Wright State University. CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

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Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Each year, the festival is put on by the Ohioana Library Association, a non-profit organization that aims to preserve and promote Ohio literature.

According to David Weaver, executive director of the Ohioana Library Association, Ohioana has “over 80,000 items in our collection.”

David Weaver is the sixth executive director of The Ohioana Library Association in 85 years. CONTRIBUTED

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“In 2007, we started with 10 authors and a few hundred attendees,” he said of the festival. “Today it is the single largest one-day event in Ohio that celebrates Ohio books and authors.”

According to Weaver, the event had more than 5,100 attendees in 2023.

Panels for the event will feature notable authors discussing various topics like the writing process, food history, popular book genres, podcast recordings and more.

“People will go to a panel and they’ll hear an author, and it might be an author they were never familiar with before,” Weaver said. “And so people will buy a copy of the book that they just heard about and go to the authors’ table and get it signed. So that’s one of the exciting things about it, you know, you get to be up close and personal with the authors.”

Due to time and space restrictions, there will be different panels occurring at the same time. The schedule can be found on the Ohioana website.

Weaver emphasized how the festival is a “come as you are event.”

“It’s fun for the whole family, its free and open to the public,” he said. “There’s no admission charge, no tickets required and no advanced registration. So we would just love to see people come out to the event.”


How to go

What: Ohioana Book Festival 2024

Where: Columbus Metropolitan Library Main Library, 96 S. Grant Ave., Columbus

When: 10:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. April 20

More info: www.ohioana.org or call 614-466-3831

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