Sophfronia Scott
Connecticut, United States
Member Since: 08/22/2012
Sophfronia Scott grew up in Lorain, Ohio, a hometown she shares with author Toni Morrison. Her father was a Mississippi-born steelworker who never learned how to read and her mother was a stay-at-home mom who always made sure there were books in the house. She holds a BA in English from Harvard and an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Sophfronia spent a big chunk of her career as a writer and editor for Time and People magazines where she developed the uncanny ability to create order out of chaos by whittling massive amounts of facts and ideas into a single cohesive form.
When Sophfronia's first novel, All I Need to Get By, was published by St. Martin's Press in 2004 Sophfronia was nominated for best new author at the African American Literary Awards and hailed by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. as “potentially one of the best writers of her generation.” Her essays, short stories, and articles have appeared in Killens Review of Arts & Letters, Saranac Review, Numéro Cinq, Ruminate, Barnstorm Literary Journal, Sleet Magazine, NewYorkTimes.com, More, and O, The Oprah Magazine. She’s completed her second novel and a collection of essays.
Sophfronia lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut with her husband and son and where she continues to fight a losing battle against the weeds in her flowerbeds. She is the founding director of Alma College's MFA in Creative Writing for the 21st Century (www.alma.edu/mfa). She blogs at www.Sophfronia.com.
Website: http://www.Sophfronia.com
Twitter Username: @Sophfronia
Publications
- The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton , Broadleaf Books (March 16, 2021)
- Hope on Any Given Day , Yankee Magazine (March 2020)
- The Legs on Which I Move , North American Review (June 2019)
- Love's Long Line , Mad Creek Books/The Ohio State University Press (February 2018)
- This Child of Faith: Raising a Spiritual Child in a Secular World , Paraclete Press (January 2018)
- Unforgivable Love (Novel) , William Morrow/HarperCollins (September 26, 2017)
- God's Will , Chicken Soup for the African American Woman's Soul (August 2006)
- A Faith of Pure Imagination , Sleet Magazine (November 2016)
- Why I Didn't Go to the Firehouse , Timberline Review (August 2016)
- Of Flesh and Spirit , Awst Press (August 2016)
- The Payoff Letter , Sleet Magazine (November 2015)
- Calling Me By My Name , Killens Review of Arts & Letters (May 2015)
- Batty's Wig Bears Witness , Sleet Magazine (April 2015)
- Why I Must Dance Like Tony Manero , Ruminate Magazine (January 2015)
- Honoring Autumn , Barnstorm Literary Journal (November 2014)
- Tain in the Rain , The Newtowner (November 2013)
- The Personal Essay and the Pain of Experience: Communicating to the Broadest Possible Audience , Numero Cinq (July 2013)
- A Change in Direction , Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers (May 2013)
- Murder Will Not Be Tolerated , The Saranac Review (October 2013)
- Living By the Light of a Smile , Chicken Soup for the Soul: 20th Anniversary Reader's Choice (June 2013)
- The Night Viera Kissed Her , Sleet Magazine (October 2012)
- White Shirts , Numero Cinq (September 17, 2012)
- Writing Your Heart Open , Hunger Mountain Website (September 20, 2012)
- Better Than Ever: Meet 4 Women Who Discovered Youth After 30 , O, The Oprah Magazine (May 2012)
- All I Need to Get By (Novel) , St. Martin's Press (April 2004)
Awards
- Artist Fellowship Grant, Connecticut Office of the Arts(2020)
- Indie Excellence Book Award, Non-Fiction Business(2009)
- Black Achievers in Industry Award, Harlem YMCA(2002)
- National Association of Black Journalists Award for Excellence in Journalism(1993)
- USA Book News Best Books, Non-Fiction Finalist(2009)
Employment
- Director at Alma College MFA in Creative Writing (June 2020 - )
- Faculty Member at Regis University Mile-High MFA in Writing (2016 - June 2020)
- Faculty Member at Bay Path University MFA in Creative Nonfiction (2017 - 2020)
- Associate Editor at People Magazine (1994 - 2003)
- Editor/Writer at Time Magazine (1988 - 1994)
Degrees
- Bachelor of Arts in English from Harvard (June 1988)
- Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, Fiction and Creative Nonfiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts (July 2014)
Genres of Interest
Fiction, Creative nonfiction