Meet Debra Leigh

                                                     

Debra Leigh Scott  -- a writer, playwright, educator, activist.  She is the author of a collection of stories called Other Likely Stories.  Her current projects include a documentary/book project about the meltdown of American universities, both titled 'Junct: The Trashing of Higher Ed. in America.  She and her film partner, Chris LaBree are co-producers of the documentary. Debra also blogs as The Homeless Adjunct.

Another project, a trilogy of novels, is underway, and the first of her trilogy, Piety Street, is currently in rewrites.  Other novels exist, in various stages of completion. A new story collection is also in the works, called Crossing the Line.  There are about a half dozen plays sitting on the hard drive, that need to be circulated.  Debra has wished for years that Jonny Ive at Apple would create the iClone so that all these projects could be finished simultaneously. But now Jonny has left Apple, so what's an overworked person to do?

After years of focusing on her writing and her behind-the-scenes creative activities, Debra has returned to performing - as a singer - and has recently co-written several new cabaret shows with her singing partner and co-creator of the show, Jean Brooks.   The plan was to tour the shows to various music festivals around the country.  Their duo performed as The Cabaret Divas.  But the pandemic and lockdowns shut everything down, and permanently closed a lot of music venues.  So, things are on hold for a bit longer.

As a scholar and educator, Debra's interests includes work in world religions, experiential spirituality,  literature, the intersection between art, culture and history.  For nearly 25 years, she taught  university courses in the humanities, in creative writing, and in interdisciplinary exploration. Beginning in late 2017, she left her work on the corporatized university campus, despairing over the ways in which academia in America has been overrun -- suffering what she calls "corporate colonization".  Since then, she has focused on all the other activities in her busy life.

Debra Leigh is the Founding Director of Hidden River Arts, an inter-disciplinary arts organization focused on supporting artists at all stages of their development.  Hidden River also maintains an independent small press. Our titles can be found at Bookshop and other online booksellers and can be ordered from local bookstores through Ingram.  We also maintains a robust internship program, and are always happy to hear from people interested in being readers, interns or volunteers for the organization.  It is an all-volunteer run arts organization which is deeply dedicated to its mission.

Debra Leigh also offers workshops and classes in creative writing, as well as private manuscript consultations and editing services to fellow writers. COVID has moved most of these activities online. In addition to working with creative writers, Debra Leigh occasionally provides business writing services to a select group of corporate and industry clients - including ghostwriting, editing, ESL consultation.  She plans to expand her blogging and her online educational work, and to provide support for those working in alternative learning modalities -- like homeschooling, or those pursuing higher education in ways other than the traditional college path.

Debra is a sage femme.....everything she does is about helping to bring new miracles into the world. Whether that is through her own creative projects, working with other artists or clients, exploring and learning with students, there is always an element of the magical mid-wife in her role.

For more information about any of the above, or to invite Debra Leigh to read, speak or screen her film,  please contact her. 

You can find Debra at a variety of online places:
Her website: www.debraleighscott.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/DebraLeighScott 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debraleigh1126/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/debraleighscott/
And all the other links in the paragraphs above!

Photo by Deborah Boardman




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