Sandra Fenichel Asher Papers

Sandra Fenichel Asher, playwright, actress, teacher and author of young adult literature, was born and raised in the neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Her father was a doctor who, after the war, set up his medical practice in the first floor of their house. According to Asher, she spent a lot of time up in her room quietly spending time with her books, magazines, puppets, radio and imagination. During this time she made up poems, stories, songs and plays to entertain herself.

Asher attended Indiana University where she earned her B.A. in English with a minor in Theatre in 1964. While attending the university she performed in university productions. She took classes in numerous disciplines: writing, theatre, dance, psychology and French.

After graduation Asher began her writing career. In addition to writing and publishing books for young readers and plays, she has published well over 200 articles, stories and poems in various periodicals. In 1974 she received her Elementary Education Certification from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. One year later she attended the University of Connecticut to do graduate work in child development. She went back to Drury University in 1978 as an instructor in Children's Literature and Creative Writing. From 1986-2003 she was the writer-in-residence for Drury, where she ran a national one-act play competition and was co-founder and Managing Director of Good Company Theatre for All Ages.

In 1991 the Sojourner Truth Scholarship was established at Drury University. The Ladies of the Eighties, Then and Now, a philanthropic group, sponsored a performance of Asher's play A Woman Called Truth. The proceeds from that performance, $600, were matched by Drury University and set aside for a $1200 Sojourner Truth Scholarship. This scholarship was available to an African American graduate of any Springfield high school to attend Drury University.

Asher now lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her husband, two cats and a dog. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild and co-founder of the website USA Plays for Kids. She also compiles and publishes the annual AATE Directory of Award-Winning Plays.

Asher is the author of 24 books for young readers (as Sandy Asher) and the editor of two fiction anthologies: But That's Another Story (Walker and Company) and With All My Heart, With All My Mind: Thirteen Stories About Growing Up Jewish (Simon & Schuster), winner of the 1999 National Jewish Book Award for children's literature.

1978

National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship Grant in Playwriting (God and a Woman)

1982

American Theatre Association Senior Citizens project New Plays List (Little Old Ladies in Tennis Shoes)

1983

1st Prize, one-act contest, Little Theatre of Alexandria (The Grand Canyon)

1984

1st Prize, Children's Musical Theater of Mobile contest (East of the Sun/West of the Moon)

1984

1st Prize, Dubuque Fine Arts Players contest (East of the Sun/West of the Moon)

1984

Junior Literary Guild Selections: (Just Like Jenny; Things Are Seldom What They Seem; Everything is not Enough)

1984

Master List, Mark Twain Award, (Just Like Jenny)

1985

University of Iowa Outstanding Books for Young Adults, (Missing Pieces)

1985

Child Study Association Best Books, (Missing Pieces)

1985-1986

Maxwell Anderson Playwriting Series, Stamford, Ct, Best New Play of the Season (Little Old Ladies in Tennis Shoes)

1986

Theatre Communications Group, Plays-in-Progress Series nominee by Society Hill Playhouse, (Little Old Ladies in Tennis Shoes)

1986

3rd Prize, Dubuque Fine Arts Players one-act contest, (Afterthoughts in Eden)

1986

Center Stage New Horizons contest, (God and a Woman)

1986-1987

Nominee, Iowa Teen Award, (Things Are Seldom What They Seem)

1986-1987

Mercyhurst College National Playwrights Showcase winner, (God and a Woman)

1986-1987

Nominee, Young Hoosier Award, (Things Are Seldom What They Seem)

1987

Finalist, IUPUI National Children's Theater Playwriting Competition, (The Silver Saucer)

circa 1988

Finalist, Ellis Memorial Award, Theatre Americana, (Little Old Ladies in Tennis Shoes)

1989

Finalist, 1989 IUPUI National Children's Theatre Playwriting Competition, (A Woman Called Truth)

1992

Joseph Campbell Memorial Award, The Open Eye Theatre, (A Woman Called Truth)

circa 1993

ASSITEJ/USA Outstanding Plays for Young Audiences International: (A Woman Called Truth)

1994

American Alliance for Theatre & Education, Distinguished Play Award, (A Woman Called Truth)

1995

Finalist, IUPUI Bonderman Playwriting Award (The Wolf and Its Shadows)

1995

Participant with The Coterie Theatre, New Visions/New Voices, John F. Kennedy Center, May 19-24, (Across the Plains)

1999

AATE Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award

1999

Semi-Finalist, IUPUI Bonderman Playwriting Symposium (Joan of ARK)

1999

National Jewish Book Award in Children's Literature, (With All My Heart, With All My Mind)

2001

Finalist, IUPUI Bonderman Playwriting Award (In the Garden of the Selfish Giant)