The fonds consists of records documenting Sofia Harwell’s professional and personal life as an archivist, artist, and children’s book author from 1992 - 2025. Records primarily focus on her 116 collages and various creative writing projects, including the narrative drafts and works produced as part of her three published children’s books: Mushrooms for Mae (2016, Annick Press), Beeker and Bock Go To the Meadow (2018, Annick Press), and What Plants? (2020, Annick Press). Other records included are photographs (mostly black-and-white), dried botanical samples collected from all over the world, and handmade paper samples that were collected as part of her travels and ultimately incorporated into her collages.
Records also include personal correspondence, including letters she received and saved from her youth through adulthood, starting in 1992. Four personal journals are also included. Finally, the fonds consists of records generated in 2022 from her participation in “The Big One”, a yearlong creative writing workshop at Firefly Creative Writing, which represents her first foray into adult-focused fiction and poetry. She has since returned to children’s writing and will be publishing a fourth book in spring of 2026.
Records are organized into 7 series: Collages, Personal correspondence, Creative writing, Photographs, Journals, Botanical samples, and Handmade paper.
Harwell, Sofia