Sophfronia Scott
Sophfronia Scott began her writing career as a journalist for Time and People magazines. When her first novel, All I Need to Get By, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2004 she 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 North American Review, Killens Review of Arts & Letters, Saranac Review, Numéro Cinq, Ruminate, Timberline Review, Barnstorm Literary Journal, Sleet Magazine, NewYorkTimes.com, More, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Her essay “Why I Didn’t Go to the Firehouse” is listed among the Notables in Best American Essays 2017.
Sophfronia previously taught at MFA programs at Regis University and Bay Path University. She’s also delivered craft talks and held workshops at the Yale Writers’ Workshop, the Madeleine L’Engle Conference, Antioch Writers’ Workshop, Meacham Writers’ Workshop, and the Hobart Festival of Women Writers in addition to her own writers’ retreat, The Write of Your Life, which takes place in Veneto, Italy each September. She lives in Sandy Hook, Connecticut where she is working on her next novel and recently completed a nonfiction book about her virtual mentorship with the monk Thomas Merton. This also means she is fighting a losing battle against the weeds in her flower beds. Her website is www.Sophfronia.com.
Title
Discipline
Educational Background
- B.A., English, Harvard University
- M.F.A., Creative Writing (Fiction and Nonfiction), Vermont College of Fine Arts
I am...
…a believer of the power of the written word. Words can change minds and each one you write is an opportunity to do just that. It’s a two way conversation: inspire others as you’re inspired and we’ll all grow together.
My career at Alma began in
Recent publications:
The Seeker and the Monk: Everyday Conversations with Thomas Merton (forthcoming). Broadleaf Books (March 2021).
“Self-Deception in the #PublishingPaidMe Marketplace.” Ruminate Magazine’s The Waking, June 2020.
“Hope on Any Given Day.” Yankee Magazine, March-April. 2020.
“The Legs on Which I Move.” North American Review, Summer 2019.
“I Don’t Have Time for This.” On Being 40(ish) book. Simon & Schuster, 2019
“A Taste of Grace.” Common Prayer: Reflections on Episcopal Worship book. Cascade Books, 2019
Love’s Long Line (essay collection). Mad Creek Books/The Ohio State University Press (Feb. 2018).
This Child of Faith: Raising a Spiritual Child in a Secular World (memoir). Paraclete Press (Jan. 2018).
Unforgivable Love (novel). William Morrow/HarperCollins. (Sept. 2017).
Recent presentations:
* “Feeding the Lake: A Journaling Workshop.” The Madeleine L’Engle Conference-Walking on Water, All Angels’ Church, New York, NY, November 2019.
* “On Sensitive Topics: How Do We Contribute in Love and Truth to Controversial Trending Topics?” (Panel), The Redeemer Writers’ Group, The Center for Faith and Work, New York, NY, September 2019.
* “Engaging with the World.” (Keynote), Publishing in Color Conference, Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, NJ, June 2019.
* “From Idea to Book Proposal: How a Thought Grows into a Book.” Writing for Your Life Spiritual Writers Conference, Drew Theological Seminary, June 2019.
* “The Open Space of Democracy: The Challenge to Writers and Artists.” (Panel with Terry Tempest Williams, Martín Espada, and Taylor Brorby), North American Review Writing Conference, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, April 2019.
* “This Child of Faith: Raising a Child of Faith in a Secular World.” (Presentation with son Tain Gregory), Living Author Series, Fairfield Preparatory School, Fairfield, CT, April 2019.
* Lenten Homily and Forum on Raising Children of Faith (with son Tain Gregory), All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Atlanta, GA, March 2019.
* “Not Your Mother’s University Press.” (Panel of The Ohio State University Press Authors), Conference of Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), Portland, OR, March 2019.
* Lenten Homily and Forum on Raising Children of Faith, St. James’ Episcopal Church, West Hartford, CT, March 2019.
* “The Miracle of Metaphor.” Writing for Your Life Spiritual Writers Conference, Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, IN, March 2019.
Recent grants:
2020 Artist Fellowship Grant, Connecticut Office of the Arts