Dr. Karen-Marie Scolforo grew up in a blue-collar family, with parents who modeled kindness, integrity, and a strong work ethic. She credits these characteristics for her own professional and academic success.
Scolforo holds a Master of Fine Arts in fiction from the Mountain View Low Residency Program at Southern New Hampshire University, a Master of Arts in writing and literature from Rivier University, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of North Florida, for which she conducted a 2010 research study of Catholic Sisters who have served as College Presidents,
inspiring her earlier novel, Sublime Dignity. Her latest project, Alone Together, was inspired by the U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on the Loneliness and Isolation Epidemic plaguing Americans and people across the globe. She is thrilled to be partnering with Panhandle Creek Press to touch hearts with this relevant and resonant novel.
Scolforo is a member of the New Hampshire Writers’ Project, the Monadnock Writers’ Group, and Association of Writers and Writing Programs. She has completed competitive summer writing workshops at Yale University and Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she has attended annual conferences for the Association of Journalists and Authors, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, and the 603 Conference for the New Hampshire Writers’ Project. Scolforo has over six years of experience as a journalist, working for five regional newspapers across New England.
Scolforo served more than 17 years as a university president, leading college communities as large as 3,000 and a budget of more than $65 million. Scolforo currently teaches 7th grade English, inspiring her students to read and write both proficiently and prolifically. She has completed eleven literary manuscripts, two of them geared toward middle-grade students.
Watch for Scolforo’s novel, Alone Together, to be released May 4th, 2027.
Description:
In a series of vignettes ALONE TOGETHER explores what it means to be lonely in America. The novel first introduces Lauren Marks, a deeply lonely advertising executive starting a new life after a painful divorce. Caught up in an epidemic to which, it seems, no one is immune, she misses the opportunity to know Valerie Baldwin, a hospital volunteer who, despite her work to lift patients’ spirits, feels the downward pull of depression. And then there’s Wanda Jackson, a critical care nurse whose service is her only solace to an otherwise isolated life. These and
many others will benefit from the visionary work of Tracey McIntire, a Boston architect who has designed a community to address regional loneliness and isolation. Her hope is to provide a model of connectivity that improves lives while offering a plan for future projects across the nation.
The U.S. Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory, “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation” recommend healing through social connection and community. ALONE TOGETHER speaks to the millions of Americans who suffer from loneliness, with the goal of inspiring hope.