An independent writer since 1973, Ms. Schinto worked as a reporter for Maine Antique Digest for more than 17 years, writing about auctions, antiques shows, museum exhibitions, and trends in the trade. For the six years prior to her start with M.A.D. ​in 2003, she was a regular contributor to and columnist for the San Diego Reader. In the spring of 2015, Ms. Schinto spent a month at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, as the recipient of a Robert and Charlotte Baron Fellowship in Creative Writing. That research was the culmination of a project that resulted in a five-part series of articles on the Walpole Society, an ultra-exclusive collector group for men founded in 1910. "Good Fellows" appeared serially in M.A.D. from November 2015 through March 2016. These articles can be read in the "Books, Etc." section of this website. In the November 2018 issue, another, multi-part series began. "James Arthur and His 'Temple of Time': A Cautionary Tale for Collector-Donors and Their Beneficiaries" continued through the February 2019 issue. Recently she completed for M.A.D. yet another series, "The Stuff about the Stuff: The Value and Imperiled Future of Collectors' Papers." It appeared in the June and July 2019 issues. Ms. Schinto is currently compiling a book of her essays and reportage on collectors and collecting. She is also working on a history of the 19th-century Christian missionary movement that originated in part with the theologians, Bible scholars, preachers, teachers, translators, printers, and ordinary townspeople of Andover, Massachusetts, where she lives today with her husband, horologist Bob Frishman. Its working title is The Missionary Factory.

For a complete bio, click on the "About" feature, above.