Susanna finds the writing process with students fun, especially once they know where we're headed, and she is always aiming toward helping students not only with their specific essays, but with their relationship with writing in general.
Susanna is the author of three novels and makes her living coaching writers and guiding workshops with the Madison Writers’ Studio, which she co-founded in 2013 with author Michelle Wildgen. Her debut novel, Stiltsville, was awarded the PEN/Bingham prize, and her second novel, Sea Creatures, was a Target Book Club pick. Her third novel, Girlfriending, is a spinoff of her award-winning short story, "The Goddess of Illicit Choices."
Susanna has worked as a college essay coach for 5+ years and relishes digging into the writing process and engaging with teenagers. She's especially energized by students who think they "can't write," and loves to demystify the process for teens who find writing intimidating. Writing is a way of organizing and processing one's thoughts, like a deep conversation with a good friend who doesn't put any pressure on you to explain yourself perfectly right away. Writing is rewriting, and rewriting can be really, really fun.
Susanna is a graduate of Columbia University and the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and has earned fellowships from the UW Institute for Creative Writing, the MacDowell Colony, and the UCross Foundation. Her fiction and creative nonfiction has been published in the Sewanee Review, Slate, and Newsweek, among other outlets.
Susanna was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and has made her home in Madison, Wisconsin, with her two teens and one adorable mutt.
Columbia University - BA, English and Anthropology
University of Iowa Writers' Workshop - MFA, Creative Writing
