Alicia DeFonzo is a Senior Lecturer and Fulbright at Old Dominion University, having earned an MFA in Nonfiction and BA in Broadcast Journalism. The Library Journal has called her debut nonfiction narrative The Time Left Between Us “a deeply personal venture but also one of significant importance now and for all future generations to learn from,” and Lincoln Journal Star says, “The author has the skill to make her intimate family portraits as precise as a song by Frank Sinatra.” DeFonzo has read for series such as Miss Manhattan Nonfiction and Inner Loop and is a frequent literary guest on local and national NPR programs.

Her teleplay pilot Which Way From Here was recently awarded Quarter-Finalist at Vail Film Festival (2023), Finalist at the Rome Independent Film Awards (2023), and Quarter-Finalist at the Orlando Film Festival (2023). “Which Way From Here” (romance/drama/fantasy) follows Alice, a 40-year-old divorcee who falls down the rabbit hole and moments of madness on her journey to self-fulfillment.

Her popular critical essay “Banning Sherlock: Twisting Facts to Suit Theories” about VA public schools removal and censorship of the Sherlock Holmes series has been globally published and translated into Italian by Univ. of Urbino. DeFonzo instructs courses on WWII Storytelling, Post-Apocalyptic Literature, Banned Books, and leads study abroad programs to London and Rome featuring Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Travel Writing, and Food as Identity.

DeFonzo is a proud member of the Battle of the Bulge Association, National Italian American Foundation, and the Order of the Sons and Daughters of Italy in America. Originally from Jersey, with Italian roots in South Philadelphia, she and her brothers moved to Virginia but remain Eagles and Phillies fans, for better or worse. Tony and James can be found a few blocks away for happy hour.