281 ratings | 59 reviews | avg rating:4.54

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Susan Beckham Zurenda

Goodreads Author

Born

in Lancaster, SC, The United States

Website

https://www.susanzurenda.com

Genre

Fiction, Historical Fiction

Member Since

March 2019

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/sbzurenda

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After teaching literature, composition, and creative writing to thousands of high school and college students for 33 years, Susan Beckham Zurenda turned her attention to putting a novel in her heart on paper, the genesis of which was a short story that won the South Carolina Fiction Prize a number of years ago. Her debut novel, Bells for Eli (Mercer University Press, March 2020; paperback edition March 2021), was the first place winner for Best First Book—Fiction in the 2021 IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Awards), a Foreword Indie Book Award finalist, a Winter 2020 Okra Pick by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, a 2020 Notable Indie on Shelf Unbound, a 2020 finalist for American Book Fest Best Book Awards, and was nominated fo ...more

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Susan Beckham Zurenda’s books

Average rating: 4.01 · 591 ratings · 145 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Bells for Eli 4.16 avg rating — 295 ratings — published 2020 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Girl from the Red Rose Motel 3.87 avg rating — 296 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	No Way Out but Through 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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1 post
Susan Beckham Zurenda's Blog: Bells for Eli

Bells for Eli in NextTribe

Check out the fabulous review of "Bells for Eli" in NextTribe.

teaser from the review by Jeannie Ralston:
Bells for Eli, delivers a haunting coming-of-age narrative, a destroyed Southern childhood, forbidden love, and a tragic twist. Think of a Tennessee Williams story that takes place in the ’60s and ’70s.

2 likes · Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on December 12, 2020 09:03 • Tags: bells-for-eli

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Susan’s Recent Updates

Susan Zurenda is now friends with michellea_reads
Jan 07, 2026 07:07AM · like
Susan Zurenda made a comment in the group On the Southern Literary Trail — Welcome to the Trail topic " I am a Southern author who taught English for 33 years. My upcoming novel, No Way Out but Through, comes out Aug., 18, 2006. My publisher has it liste ...more "
Jan 04, 2026 07:15AM
Susan Zurenda commented on Lisa of Troy’s update " Thank you, Susan! Until I wrote the novel, I was unaware of the problem of child marriage in the US. The woman who inspired the novel was coerced/forc ...more " Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars Lisa of Troy shared a highlight from The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Goodreads Author) See all Lisa of Troy’s notes and highlights for this book I WAS SITTING IN a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster.
Jan 04, 2026 07:07AM
Susan Zurenda commented on Lisa of Troy’s update " The protagonist in my new novel, No Way Out but Through, that comes out August 18, 2026, reads The Glass Castle and realizes how closely the story par ...more " Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars Lisa of Troy shared a highlight from The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (Goodreads Author) See all Lisa of Troy’s notes and highlights for this book I WAS SITTING IN a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster.
Jan 02, 2026 03:27PM
Susan Zurenda joined the group On the Southern Literary Trail
Jan 01, 2026 08:24PM · like
Susan Zurenda has read No Way Out but Through by Susan Beckham Zurenda (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 01, 2026 11:35AM · like
Susan Zurenda rated a book it was amazing Heartwood by Amity Gaige (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It's rare for me to read a novel these days that I can't put down, but Heartwood made me keep reading every spare minute. Gaige well succeeds in plotting this wilderness suspense novel that entwines the stories of three women: Valerie, who is lost in ...more
Jan 01, 2026 11:15AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Heartwood by Amity Gaige. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Heartwood by Amity Gaige <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Zurenda rated a book really liked it What We Can Know by Ian McEwan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It is difficult for me to appraise Ian McEwan's What We Can Know. I appreciate the beautiful writing and plotting and the important themes of self-indulgence and disregard for the environment. That said, because the characters in the 2014 storyline, ...more
Jan 01, 2026 10:59AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of What We Can Know by Ian McEwan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — What We Can Know by Ian McEwan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Zurenda is now following Mary Olejnik and South Main
Jan 01, 2026 10:57AM

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