Sharon Short is the author of the coming-of-age novel My One Square Inch of Alaska (Penguin Plume) in which a pair of siblings escape the strictures of the 1950s industrial Ohio town on the adventure of a lifetime, and of two mystery series (Patricia Delaney, 'electronic gumshoe,' set in the 1990s and Josie Toadfern, a comedic amateur sleuth.) As Jess Montgomery, she writes a historical mystery series set in 1920s Appalachia. The first title, "THE WIDOWS," will be published by Minotaur Books in January 2019. Sharon has twice received Ohio Arts Council (OAC) Individual Artist Grants (2012 and 2016) for her fiction. Opening chapters of Alaska earned the 2012 OAC grant as well as a Montgomery County (Ohio) Arts & Cultural District Literary Artist Fellowship (2010). Based on chapters of THE WIDOWS, she earned her 2016 OAC grant and was named the 2014 John E. Nance Writer-in-Residence at Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, Sharon's book Sanity Check: A Collection of Columns includes 100 reader-favorites of her weekly humor and lifestyle column that ran in the Dayton Daily News for more than a decade. Sharon has also published two mystery series (Josie Toadfern Stain-Busting Mysteries and Patricia Delaney eGumshoe Mysteries) as well as short stories and essays. Sharon is the Literary Life columnist for the Dayton Daily News and is the Executive Director of the renowned Antioch Writers' Workshop at University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. Sharon holds a B.A. in English from Wright State University and in 2013 was named the university's Outstanding Alumna for the College of Liberal Arts Department of English based on her achievements as a writer, columnist and director of a literary arts organization. She also holds an M.A. in English from Bowling Green State University. She makes her home in her native state of Ohio. Sharon also has a Facebook author page: www.facebook.com/SharonShortAuthor and Instagram page: www.instagram.com/sharongshort Learn more about her work as Jess on her Jess Montgomery Goodreads page or on her website: www.jessmontgomeryauthor.com