Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar

Education

Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar received her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a Literacy Specialization from the University of Delaware and her MFA in Creative Writing with a focus on horror fiction from Wilkes University. She also holds a Master of Arts in Fiction from Wilkes University, a Master of Instruction from the University of Delaware, and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a Writing Concentration from York College of Pennsylvania. Furthermore, she was certified in Secondary Education English at York College of Pennsylvania and later attained National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification for English Language Arts/Adolescence and Young Adulthood. Additionally, she earned a Diversity, Equity and Inc

Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with a Literacy Specialization from the University of Delaware

M.F.A. in Creative Writing with a focus on horror fiction from Wilkes University

Master of Arts in Fiction from Wilkes University Master of Instruction from the University of Delaware

Bachelor of Arts in English with a Writing Concentration from York College of Pennsylvania

Teaching and Research Interests

Primarily a fiction writer, Dr. Sachar is the author of the Regal Summit Book Award-winning dark suspense novel Darkness There but Something More (Wicked House Publishing, 2024), the short horror story collection Keeper of Corpses and Other Dark Tales (Velox Books, 2024), the middle-grade mystery The Hidden Diary (Baynam Books Press, 2024), the horror novella Close the Door (Baynam Books Press, 2025), and the YA thriller Lake of Secrets (Horrorsmith Publishing, 2025). She is also the editor (and a contributing author) of Wicked Universe: A Wicked House Publishing Anthology (Wicked House Publishing, 2024). Her shorter creative work has appeared in more than fifty literary journals, magazines, and anthologies including The Horror Zine, Tales from the Moonlit Path, Corvus Review, and Quagmire Literary Magazine. She has presented her creative works at conferences including the Pennsylvania College English Association (PCEA) Conference and the English Association of Pennsylvania State Universities (EAPSU) Conference. Read more about her work at https://cassandraosullivansachar.com/.

As a horror scholar, Dr. Sachar has published critical and craft essays in publications including The Angry Gable, Bewildering Stories, and HorrorAddicts.net. She is the editor of the Bram Stoker Award-nominated multi-author volume of horror scholarship No More Haunted Dolls: Horror Fiction that Transcend the Tropes(Vernon Press, 2024). Additionally, she has chaired panels on and presented horror scholarship at the Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) Convention and the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference.

Prior to her career at Commonwealth University-Bloomsburg, Dr. Sachar taught secondary English in underprivileged Delaware public schools for fifteen years. This experience contributed to her research interests centering around providing meaningful feedback, utilizing metacognitive revision to promote writing achievement, and working with at-promise students. Her research studies and practitioner pieces have appeared in over thirty publications including Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Global Education Review, Faculty Focus, Inside Higher Ed, and The Teaching Professor. She has presented on the subjects of writing strategy instruction, literacy, and DEI at international, national, and regional conferences including the Writing Research Across Borders Conference, the World Literacy Summit, the National Organization for Student Success Conference, and the Lilly Conference.

Courses Taught

ENGL204 - Introduction to Creative Writing

ENGL300 - Fiction WorkshopENGL371 - Composition Theory

ENGL440 - Independent Study

HONR222 - Writing Horror Fiction

WRIT101/102 - Foundations in Composition/Lab

WRIT103 - Foundations in Composition