Bio

New York Times bestselling author Susannah Charleson has been writing professionally since 1981, a “free-range writer” with magazine and newsletter articles, multimedia productions, PSAs, news stories, commercials, features and movie reviews for commercial radio, Web content for publisher Thomson/Wadsworth, radio theatre and parody for public radio, catalog copy for a vintage jewelry store, and serial fiction on AOL in her portfolio. In addition to writing for media, she has worked in radio and television reporting news, weather, and traffic. Susannah hosted a Dallas-area arts & entertainment television program for thirteen years.

Susannah in the audio booth at Blackstone.

Recording the audiobook edition of THE POSSIBILITY DOGS at Blackstone Audio, Ashland, Oregon

Away from the keyboard, Susannah is a K9 search-and-rescue handler/trainer in the United States with a particular focus in search protocol for the special-needs missing, including the elderly and those with cognitive disabilities. Her first search partner, Puzzle, was a Golden Retriever certified for the rescue or recovery of missing persons in urban, wilderness, disaster, and scent discrimination / trailing searches. Puzzle retired in 2016. Susannah is now partnered by golden Gambit, a 2014 pup sired by Puzzle’s grandfather. At home, Susannah lives with a rabble rescued cats, dogs, and chickens–many of them rescues with special needs, including a pup on wheels named Ruff Draft.

Susannah’s first book, Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search and Rescue Dog, was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in April 2010. This critically well-received book also appeared on the New York Times, Dallas Morning News, and Denver Post Bestseller lists, with excerpts appearing in D Magazine, Bark, and other online venues. The e-book returned to Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestseller lists in fall, 2012. Scent of the Missing is available in audio formats from Blackstone Audio and in e-print for Kindle, iPad, etc., as well. Portugese, Polish, Czechoslovakian, Japanese and Chinese editions are also available.

Scent is available through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and fine independent booksellers nationwide and may be ordered directly from the book’s website, online, or purchased in stores.

Scent of the Missing was optioned for television in 2010 and is owned by CBS Productions.

A book that follows Susannah’s work with rescued dogs trained for mental health service to the disabled and for therapy work in the wake of catastrophe or trauma — The Possibility Dogs: What a Handful of Rescues Taught Me About Service, Hope, & Healing, was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, June 2013.

Audiobook editions of both Scent of the Missing and The Possibility Dogs are available from Blackstone Audio/Downpour.com. Susannah narrates both books.

Released June 4, 2019: Where the Lost Dogs Go: A Story of Love, Search, and the Power of Reunion, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. After years as a search specialist for missing persons, Susannah turns her attention to the search for lost pets. In this heart-lifting, challenging work, she’s assisted by a compassionate golden retriever and a resourceful last chance shelter dog, who, when Susannah suffers her own tragic loss, helps heal her grief. Where the Lost Dogs Go is available in hardcover, e-book, and, via Blackstone Audio/Downpour, audiobook, narrated by the author. The paperback edition released June 2020.

Media inquiries, contact:

Taryn Roeder
Senior Director of Publicity
HarperCollins Publishers
Taryn.Roeder@harpercollins.com

Presentation and Texas media inquiries after December 2019, contact the author: susannah@susannahcharleson.com

Representation:
Susan Canavan
Waxman Literary Agency

Formerly represented (2007-2021) by the late, esteemed
Jim Hornfischer
President
Hornfischer Literary Management, L.P.
Austin TX

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