Karen Swallow Prior, PhD

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Research Professor of English and Christianity and Culture — Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Karen Swallow Prior, Professor of English, earned her Ph. D. and M. A. at the State University of New York at Buffalo and her B. A. at Daemen College. Her scholarly work has appeared in 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era; The Shandean; The Scriblerian and various literary encyclopedias. Prior received the Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence in 2013, was named Faculty of the Year by the Multicultural Enrichment Center in 2010, received the Sigma Tau Delta (LU chapter) Teacher of the Year Award, and was the 2003 recipient of the President's Award for Teaching Excellence. She is a member of the graduate faculty and teaches British literature primarily, with a specialty in eighteenth century British literature, which she loves for its emphasis on philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, community, and the "middle way." Her books include Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More - Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist (Thomas Nelson 2014) and a literary and spiritual memoir, Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me (T. S. Poetry Press 2012). She is a contributing writer for Christianity Today, The Atlantic, In Touch, and Think Christian. Her writing has also appeared at Comment, Relevant, Books and Culture, Fieldnotes, The Well, and Salvo. She has spoken at numerous writing conferences including the Festival of Faith and Writing and the Roanoke Regional Writers Conference. Prior is a member of Faith Advisory Council of the Humane Society of the United States. She lives in rural Virginia with her husband along with sundry dogs, horses, and chickens.

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You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good, and Beautiful

In You Have a Calling, award-winning author Karen Swallow Prior has encouraging news: If you pursue the good, true, and beautiful in all your work, yo...

Featured on: Wednesday, October 8, 2025

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Frankenstein: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting

Jane Eyre. Frankenstein. The Scarlet Letter. You’re familiar with these pillars of classic literature. You have seen plenty of Frankenstein costumes,...

Featured on: Thursday, April 1, 2021

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Jane Eyre: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting

Jane Eyre. Frankenstein. The Scarlet Letter. You’re familiar with these pillars of classic literature. You have seen plenty of Frankenstein costumes,...

Featured on: Thursday, April 1, 2021

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