Nita Sweeney

Ohio native Nita Sweeney is the author of the running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink. The Dog Writers Association of America awarded the book the Maxwell Medallion and it was a Faulkner Award Finalist. Nita is an Ohio Arts Council Governors Award nominee and winner of the Dublin Arts Council Poets Choice Award.

Nita also coauthored the popular writing journal, You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration and Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving, with Brenda Knight (Women of the Beat Generation.)

Nita’s articles, essays, and poems have appeared in Buddhist America, Dog World, Dog Fancy, Writers Journal, Country Living, Pitkin Review, Spring Street, The Taos News, WNBA-SF blog, Wide Open Writing, Pencil Storm, The Writing Cooperative, It’s Not Your Journey, Runs with Cookies, and other newspapers and newsletters. Nita also writes the blog, Bum Glue and publishes the monthly email, Write Now Columbus. She is a frequent podcast and radio guest.

Nita earned a journalism degree from The E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, a law degree from The Ohio State University, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She serves on the board of the Women's National Book Association of San Francisco.

For ten years, Nita studied with and assisted best-selling author Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones) at week-long writing workshops teaching the rules of writing practice and leading participants in sitting and walking meditation. Goldberg authorized her to teach writing practice and Nita has taught for twenty years.

Nita lives in Upper Arlington with her husband (and biggest fan), Ed, and their yellow Labrador retriever, Scarlet.