Sophia Kunkel (she/they) graduated summa cum laude from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, with a bachelor's degree in English and a concentration in Creative Writing (she is pictured outside her campus' library, otherwise known as her unofficial second home). She also earned a certificate in GLAM Studies (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) with a focus in librarianship. For 2025-2026, they were selected as a Fulbright Alternate for Georgia, in the English Teaching Assistantship program. But aside from all that jargon, they love nature walks, have endless enthusiasm for Doctor Who, and adore their puppy, Bielka {the space dog}. 

Sophia is primarily a fantasy and speculative fiction writer, but dabbles in poetry, and loves tackling essays in her free time. Sophia can't decide what form she likes the best, so why not try everything? 

Most recently, she was awarded the Hollins Fiction Prize and the Mary Vincent Long Award in English. In 2024, she won the Nancy Penn Holsenbeck Award in English. During her sophomore year, she was the lead playwright for "Bumble's Big Adventure," an upperclassman's thesis that was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, much to her delight! Sophia's debut novel, Starless Skies and Broken Dreams, was self-published in 2021 as part of her high school senior project. A few months later, they participated in a writing challenge and published a chapbook, "Meandering Musings," that is also available for purchase (though looking at her poems and her self-published book now, there's a lot she would have told her younger self :)). 

Current poems appear in her school's literary magazines like Gravel and Cyborg Griffon. Her work-in-progress is her senior thesis that involves Georgian mythologies, shapeshifting dragons, and a-spec characters. Contrary to a certain famous fantasy author's beliefs, asexual people are real and deserve to be represented in the written word. 

Sophia volunteered with The Young Writers Initiative for three years, an organization dedicated to serving young creative minds all over the world. There is nothing more rewarding than helping others. While she has since stepped down from the larger organization, Sophia established a chapter at Hollins, which is bright and thriving to this day. In the four years that TYWI has been at Hollins, the club has hosted authors such as: Kris Spisak, Cassie Gustafson, Charity Alyse, Jennifer Nielsen, Namina Forna, Vicki Johnson, Julia A. Mills, and Ann Zhao. 

If you're curious about her favorite books, best not to ask. It's like choosing a favorite child. After a bout of nervous, caffeine-infused rambling, she'll tell you what her current read is, though, and whether she's enjoying it.

And, lastly, she offers these parting words from Kurt Vonnegut: “Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, and not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.”

But, to be fair, she's an unabashed fan of purple prose.