BIO
Sol X. Wooten is a writer and educator born in Thailand, raised in Texas. She currently lives in Ithaca, NY where she earned her MFA from Cornell University. Her work has received support from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts & Sciences, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her fiction has been published in North American Review, and she contributes arts and culture reporting to The Ithaca Voice.
ABOUT ME
Before I was a writer, I was a listener and reader. As a child, I loved adventure stories, mythology, and fairytales. Each summer, my grandfather read Ivanhoe to me from an old linen-bound book, his Texan drawl tethering me to Sir Walter Scott's adventure set in twelfth-century England. Before I was a photographer, I admired the black and white photographs my parents took in Vietnam, where my mother was born: a blurred bicyclist on the street, ocean waves cresting beyond sand hills, my father’s face wrapped in my mother’s arms as they both looked up at the lens. Before I was a mentor and teacher, I was a student who benefited from the kindness and attention of generous educators.
Studying psychology and film photography at Cornell College deepened my interest in how people see, remember, and make meaning. After graduating, I returned to Austin, where I worked with neurodivergent middle and high school students, supporting their development of executive functioning and life skills. During that time, I also began volunteering with American Short Fiction, eventually joining the magazine as an associate editor.
In 2021, I moved to Ithaca to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing at Cornell University. Afterward, I worked as a lecturer, teaching Introduction to Creative Writing and an independent course titled Hauntings in Fiction, Memoir, and Film. While I specialized in fiction, my deep appreciation for other genres is reflected in my practice and teaching of poetry, personal essays, and short stories. At Cornell, I discovered how passionate I am about shaping learning environments informed by curiosity and care. I found it deeply fulfilling to help students articulate their interior worlds and contexts through writing.
Beyond literary and arts communities, much of my service has centered on expanding educational opportunities for people who are incarcerated. I am a reader for the Insider Prize, have written letters and sent reading materials on behalf of the Inside Books Project, and tutored in a maximum-security prison through the Cornell Prison Education Program.
Creativity, curiosity, and care are the values I strive to embody in all areas of my life and work.