A leading voice in gender, literature, and cultural criticism, Dr. Susan Osborn is an award-winning author, educator, and public speaker whose work bridges feminist scholarship and fiction, hands-on activism, and advocacy.

Her non-fiction books, creative works, and journalistic writing routinely earn praise for their discerning intelligence when tackling difficult subjects. Her essays and criticism have appeared in a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Village Voice, American Scholar, and Chicago Tribune. Her last non-fiction book, Elizabeth Bowen: New Critical Perspectives, was celebrated as a “tour de force;” her last novel, Surviving the Wreck, was touted as “a work of genius.”

Dr. Osborn currently serves as the Director of The Writing Center of Princeton. For many decades, she taught gender, writing, and literature at Rutgers University, Douglass College, The New School for Social Research, and SUNY-New Paltz. After earning her A.B. from Vassar College and her Ph.D. from Rutgers University, she went on to complete additional graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University.

Beyond her academic work, Dr. Osborn serves as a mentor and coach for The Reilly Program at the BOLD Center for Advancing Women’s Professional Development at Douglass College and at other colleges and organizations where she addresses the many factors that can disrupt women’s professional trajectories, including experiences of sexual violence.

As a public speaker, Dr. Osborn has earned praise for her amiable style and accessible storytelling ability. Her presentations and lectures at universities, literary festivals, and conferences across the US in Europe often explore the cultural and historical foundations of the systemic oppression of women and offer strategies for change.

As an advocate and activist, Dr. Osborn has coordinated initiatives such as the Rutgers’ United Nations “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” campaign and worked with Saprea, an organization combating sexual violence against children.

Feminists, feminist educators and students, social justice advocates, and medical professionals, including psychotherapists, social workers, traumatologists, and emergency room personnel have taken particular interest in her work for its insightful linkage of past and present injustices and its implications for present-day struggles and reform.

To connect with her to explore book-related opportunities, or to invite her to speak, click here.

Work in Progress: When she was two, the author’s mother was struck down by polio. Marjorie survived, but her left leg was severely withered and partially paralyzed.