Dr. Karen-Marie Scolforo writes as Ren Barrie. 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, The Geography of Loneliness, was inspired by the U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on the loneliness and isolation epidemic affecting Americans and people across the globe.
Scolforo is a member of the New Hampshire Writers’ Project, the Monadnock Writers’ Group, and the Association of Writers & Writing Programs. She has completed competitive writing workshops at Yale University and Vermont College of Fine Arts, and she has more than six years of experience as a journalist, working for five regional newspapers across New England.
Scolforo served more than seventeen years as a university president, leading college communities of up to 3,000 and managing budgets of more than $65 million. She currently teaches seventh-grade English, inspiring her students to read and write both proficiently and prolifically. She has completed eleven literary manuscripts, two of them for middle-grade readers.
The Geography of Loneliness will be published by Panhandle Creek Press on May 4, 2027.