RESUME
The Art Crowd, David McKay Inc. l973 (Book of the Month Club alternate selection, Saturday Review Book Club, NY Times Bestseller).
The Threat [by Terrorists] to Licensed Nuclear Facilities, ed., Mitre Corp. 1975.
The Landed Gentry, G. P. Putnam & Sons 1978.
A Book of Angels, Ballantine Books 1990 (NY Times & other bestseller lists, tr. 25 languages).
Angel Letters, Ballantine Books 1991 (tr. 20 languages, NY Times Bestseller).
Revelations (novel), Ballantine Books 1992 (Literary Guild selection, tr. several languages).
The President’s Angel (novel), Ballantine Books 1993.
For Writers Only, Ballantine Books 1994.
The Ecstatic Journey: the Transforming Power of Mystical Experience, Ballantine Books 1998.
The Ecstatic Journey: Walking the Mystical Path in Everyday Life, Ballantine Books 1999.
The Treasure of Montségur (novel), Harper San Francisco 2002, paperback 2004 (tr. 4 languages).
The Path of Prayer, Viking-Compass 2002 (Literary Guild Selection; named one of the 50 best books of the year).
A Book of Angels, new edition, Ballantine, 2004 (tr. 25 languages).
The Art of Intuition, Tarcher/Penguin 2011.
A Book of Angels, new edition, Tarcher/Penguin 2011.
For Writers Only, Tarcher/Penguin 2011.
The Art of Intuition, TarcherPerigee 2011.
Love, Alba (novel), River Sanctuary 2015.
Falling: Love-Struck, the God Poems, Finishing Line Press 2016.
The Wonder and Happiness of Being Old, Andrews McMeel 2025.
Books for Children
Buccaneer (novel), Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. 1977.
The Dogwalker (novel), Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. 1979.
Essays & Major Articles
(75-100) in Esquire, the New York Times Magazine, New York, Town & Country, the Reader’s Digest (Japan, South America), New Woman, Vogue, McCall’s, Saturday Review, and others.
Investigations into topics ranging from art to the environment, drugs, pornography, celebrity profiles, death of my mother, marriage, divorce.
Plays
Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound (adapted by Burnham) and Prometheus Released, a modernized lost conclusion, commissioned by The Studio Theatre, March-April 2002
The Meaning of Life, commissioned by Arena Stage; finalist Turnip Th. Festival, NYC, 2002.
Penelope, 3-act classical drama, 1976 (see awards); produced last in 2005.
The Study, 2-act drama, 1979; revised as Snowstorms 1985, 1993 (see awards).
Plays for Children
The Nightingale, radio play, NPR., 1980; performed live at the Smithsonian Institution, and elsewhere.
Beauty and the Beast, radio play, NPR, 1979.
The Witch’s Tale, radio play, NPR, 1978 (see awards).
Films
The Music of Shakespeare’s England, television, WETA.
The Smithsonian’s Whale, film, sent by USIA to Venice Film Festival, 1964.
The Leaf Thieves, film, American Film Festival, 1964.
Works reprinted in anthologies
Grace and Gravity: Fiction by Washington Area Women, ed. by Richard Peabody, Paycock Press, Arlington VA, 2004.
Smith Voices: Selected Works by Smith College Alumnae. “Visits from Angels: From A Book of Angels.” The Smith College Press, 1999.
Visions of Angels: 35 Photographers Share Their Images. Foreward by Sophy Burnham. Nelson Bloncourt & Karen Engelmann. Smithmark Publishers., 1998.
“Bitten, Wahrnehmen, Antworten,” in Das Neue Grosse Praxisbuch Der Esoterik, Diane von Weltzien ed., Wilhelm Goldmann, Munich, 1998.
Table for Two, Please, Brian Luke Seaward, PhD., ed., BookPartners Inc., 1998.
Embracing Our Essence: Spiritual Conversations with Prominent Women. Chapter by Sophy Burnham. Susan Skog, Published by Health Communications Inc., 1995.
“From A Book of Angels,” in Literary Angels, Harriet Scott, Chessman ed., Ballantine Books, 1994.
Α Mental Energy: Doing More by Doing Less First. Ch.16: Sophy Burnham: “Meditating Generates Energy,” in Living Alive! Flora Davis, Doubleday & Co., N.Y. 1980.
“El Barrio’s Worst Block is Not So Bad,” by David and Sophy Burnham, in Crime in the City, Daniel Glaser ed., Harper & Row, 1970. (original article in the NYTimes Magazine, 1969.)
“El Barrio’s Worst Block…So Bad,” in Cities in Trouble, Nathan Glazer ed., Quadrangle, 1970.
* (Please note that with the exception of the chapter from Flora Davis’ book Living Alive, these do not include the many articles about Sophy Burnham, but only those written by her and reprinted in anthologies.)
Audio Tapes
Piercing the Veil: Crossing into the Mystical Realm; 4 ½ hours: Sounds True, Boulder, CO. 1999
When You’re Hurting and in Need: Transformational prayer for Painful Times. 3 hours: Sounds True, Boulder CO. 2000
The President’s Angel, A Book of Angels; read by the author. Random House
A Book of Angels, Library of Congress, reading for the Blind.
Writer/Editor
Executive Director, Fund for New American Plays, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC 1991-96
Staff writer, columnist, Museum & Arts/Washington, 1987-89
Staff writer, New Woman magazine, 1984- 90
Theatre coverage, Washington, D. C. Vogue, 1987- 90
Contributing Editor, New Art Examiner, 1985-86.
Speechwriter for Secretary, Department of Housing & Urban Development, (HUD), 1977-79.
Contributing editor, Town & Country, 1975-80.
Acquisitions editor, David McKay Inc. developing authors and editing mss. for publication, 1971-73.
Independent Consultant, 1975-88 to the MITRE Corp., the Veterans Administration, Public Citizen, INSLAW, Environmental Protection Agency, and others.
Private teaching, The Writer’s Room, 2008-present.
University affiliations
George Mason University, 1982-83, adjunct lecturer.
University of Alaska, Juneau, 1980, under grant Juneau Arts & Humanities Council.
Awards and Honors
Office of Advanced Drama Research, University of Minn. ( Penelope) 1976.
Virginia Duvall Mann Award (“Snowstorms”): N.C. Festival of New Plays, 1993.
DC Community Humanity Council, Award for Service to the Humanities, 1988.
First Prize (“Penelope”), Women’s Theatre Award, Seattle, Washington, 1981.
Award of Excellence (“Machu Picchu”), Communications Arts Magazine, Realités, 1980.
Best Children’s Radio Play (“Witch’s Tale”) National Association of Community Broadcasters, 1980.
Third Prize (“Penelope”) Episcopal Drama Award, National Episcopal Churches, 1979.
Daughter of Mark Twain, Mark Twain Society, 1974.
Best Magazine Feature, U. S. Horse Association, 1969.
Grants
D.C. Arts & Humanities Council, 1980-81.
The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of Taos, N.M. 1981. 1983. 1991.
Community Activities
DC Humanities Council, 2002-2003.
Columbia Recovery Center, Board of Trustees, 1993-.
The Octagon Committee, The American Institute of Architects Foundation, 1984-1989.
Search Committee for President, American Institute of Architects Foundation, 1984.
Literature Panel, D. C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, 1986, 1987.
D. C. Community Humanities Council, (regranting arm NEH): founding member, 1979-85. Vice-chair, 1979-1980.
The Studio Theatre, founding member, 1978-1985. Chairman of the Board, 1979-1980.
Women’s International Theatre Alliance, secretary 1979-1981.
Listings
Contemporary Authors
Who’s Who of American Women,
International Writers and Authors Who’s Who
Who’s Who in America
Member
The Cosmos Club, Washington, DC
Languages
Italian and French
Education
BA cum laude, Smith College, Northampton, MA.