Susan Shepherd’s writing has been published in the Boston Globe, Ploughshares, Story Magazine, Points in Case, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Quarterly, and the Kenyon Review. Her work as a producer and reporter has aired on NPR’s Living on Earth, PRI’s Marketplace, and on multiple NPR shows. Her story “Goats” from Ploughshares, was listed as a distinguished story in the Best American Short Stories 2021, edited by Jesmyn Ward, and “Snakes,” from the Chicago Quarterly was listed as a distinguished story in the Best American Short Stories 2023.
Her short fiction podcast 11 Central Ave aired in Morning Edition on NPR-affiliated stations around the country. The show won a Gold Medal for Best Comedy from the New York Festivals, and a National Gracie Allen Award for Best Producer, Comedy.
Her short stories are part of an in-progress linked collection of short stories called Animalia. “Animalia” and “Sharks” were published in Story Magazine. “Goats” from the collection was chosen by guest editor Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere for the 2020 Summer Issue of Ploughshares and was listed as a Distinguished Story in the Best American Short Stories 2021, guest edited by Jesmyn Ward. “Snakes” was published in the Chicago Quarterly Review in 2022, and “Baboons” is in the Spring 2023 issue of the Kenyon Review. “Lambs” is forthcoming in One Story Magazine.
Shepherd is finishing her linked collection of stories “Animalia” and is also producing a fictional podcast called “The End.” In this darkly funny series, Pete and Joanna Bloom, middle-aged siblings, are coerced by the terms of their father’s will to run a hospice center from their childhood home. “The End” is a tragicomic exploration of what it means to have a good death. It is also a reflection of how we situate old age against youth, and the dying amongst the living. The show brings to life a story of family, connection, and the myriad ways of letting go.
Susan lives near Boston with her husband, six chickens, and her dog Chivo.
