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Welcome to my site. I have an alter ego named Susanne Antonetta, who writes most of my prose. If you are looking for S.A.'s work, click on the Prose link. Check out Poetry too, written under my legal name of Suzanne Paola-S.A. does get a swelled head sometimes.
I have published two books of nonfiction, A Mind Apart: Travels in a Neurodiverse World and Body Toxic, and four books of poetry, most recently The Lives of the Saints. My work encompasses the environment, mental health and diversity, spirituality, the sciences,parenting and other subjects. Grants and awards include a New York Times Notable Book, an American Book Award, Oprah's Bookshelf review, Ken Johnson/Nami award for furthering understanding of mental difference, best book of the year listings by Spirituality and Health, Science and Spirit, amazon.com, and Library Journal, a Pushcart, a finalist for poetry's Lenore Marshall Award, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other agencies. I also coauthored Tell It Slant: Writing and shaping creative nonfiction with Brenda Miller. UPDATE: The second edition of Tell It Slant, full title Tell It Slant: Creating, Refining and Publishing Creative Nonfiction, will be available on March 31, 2012. This new edition will include the text and writing prompts of the first edition, along with new sections on hypertext, blogging, multimedia, a step-by-step guide to publishing both individual essays and books, and much much more. The price will be lower than the old textbook price, and our new website will include syllabi, readings, and many other pedagogical materials.
I am currently putting the final revisions on a new book on the subject of adoption, Inventing Family, forthcoming from W.W. Norton. I have also published many individual poems, essays and book reviews, as well as anthology pieces, some listed on this website. Some are listed under the link Recent and Forthcoming. Essays and other talks/interviews of mine on the web are available under Links.
I do many readings, short-term visiting writer stints, and teach at many writer's conferences and festivals. I speak on issues of the environment, adoptive parenting, neurodiversity/disability (a word I always have in air quotes) and have keynoted literary conferences and disabilities and the arts conferences. I also teach environmental and research-based writing courses. If you are interested in reaching me about a visit use the Contact link.
My literary agent is Jill Grinberg; for questions relating to literary representation she can be reached at jill@grinbergliterary.com.
People ask what you do when you're not writing. Are you ever not writing? When my fingers aren't on the keys, they tend to work in the garden, pet our cats and our dog Meeko, or to get some squeezes from my husband and son. I also really love to cook. It's the perfect antidote to the writing life-immediate gratification. You put something nice on the table. No one's mad at you. Everyone loves you.