Susan Beckham Zurenda

Susan Beckham Zurenda taught English for thirty-three years, both on the college level and to AP high school students. She is the author of the Southern literary novel, Bells for Eli, the Gold Medal winner for Best First Book—Fiction in the IPPY Awards, a Foreword Indie Book Award finalist, an Okra Pick by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, a Notable Indie on Shelf Unbound, a finalist for American Book Fest Best Book Awards, and a Pushcart Prize nominee. Her second novel, The Girl from the Red Rose Motel, was the recipient of the Patricia Winn Award in Southern Fiction, a Gold Medal winner in the IPPY Awards for Southeast Fiction, a Pushcart Prize nominee, a Shelf Unbound Notable 100 books, and a finalist in the American Book Fest Awards. Zurenda is also the recipient of numerous awards for her short fiction, including the South Carolina Fiction Award, twice. The author lives in Spartanburg, SC. Learn more at www.susanzurenda.com.