About Jo

Author & Professor

Jo Scott-Coe’s latest book is Unheard Witness: The Life and Death of Kathy Leissner Whitman (University of Texas Press). Her previous two nonfiction books are Teacher at Point Blank (Aunt Lute) and MASS: A Sniper, a Father, and a Priest (Pelekinesis), a first-time exploration of the relationship between the 1966 UT Austin sniper and his priest mentor, Rev. Joseph “Gil” Leduc.

Jo’s essays on intersections of public-private violence have been published widely for general as well as academic audiences. Her work has appeared in venues including Salon, The Los Angeles Times, American Studies Journal, Tahoma Literary Review, Talking Writing, Catapult, Pacific Coast Philology, The Press-Enterprise, Superstition Review, and many others. Her nonfiction has received three Notable listings in Best American Essays and two Pushcart Special Mentions. In 2020, MASS was awarded the silver medal for biography from eLit Awards.

Jo is a professor of English at Riverside City College, where she was selected as 57^th Distinguished Faculty Lecturer in part for her study of archival materials. She also facilitates community writing workshops for the Inlandia Institute in Southern California. When she is not writing or teaching, she enjoys reading, experimenting with new recipes, and traveling.