In Memory of Susan DeFreitas
Born May 19, 1977, Susan crossed to the other shore on Wednesday, February 26, 2025. After a year-long illness, her final transition was peaceful at home, surrounded by loving family and held in love and light.
Susan’s 47 years of this life were immense and full of laughter, joy, and deep conversation and connection with friends, family, strangers, and Spirit. Author, poet, artist, storyteller, emcee, book coach, entrepreneur, teacher, activist, home chef, Happy Farmer, banjo player, reader, hiker, tree-hugger, swimmer, traveler, meditator, free-spirit, star-gazer, dreamer, wife, mother, and friend. Born in West Michigan, she lived in Hart, Michigan; Prescott, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; and Charleston, South Carolina; before landing in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2018.
Susan is the author of the award-winning novel, Hot Season, and the editor of Dispatches from Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. LeGuin. Her short stories and poems were published widely, and her writing classes were celebrated. She is the creator of Workshops Against Empire, an alternative MFA program for writers who want to change the world.
Susan is survived by her loving husband Daniel, and son Calder, as well as her mother Sally, father Bruce, step-mother Kathy, brother Andre, sister Tara, and other extended family members, including her beloved Happy Farmer community.
Though Susan has crossed over, her presence remains vibrantly alive in her words, her students, and her work. The outpouring of love and condolences from her community shows us just how much of an impact she made in this world.
Workshops Against Empire, a complete five course framework of craft with social justice at its heart, continues under the care of her team and husband, ensuring that her vision, and her belief that stories can change the world for the better, lives on.
Workshops Against Empire and her beloved Story Medicine Community remain available for writers who wish to study with her in spirit. Through these teachings, her wisdom, humor, and insight continue to guide authors toward crafting powerful, world-changing stories. The kind she believed the world needs most.
Susan would want writers everywhere to keep writing, keep growing, and keep using their stories to make this world a more compassionate, conscious, and courageous place.
If you’d like to learn more about Workshops Against Empire, click here.
And if you’d like to read Susan’s published books, click here.
Here’s to better stories for a better world,
The Workshops Against Empire team
Susan's mission continues: to tell stories that matter and help others to do the same.
Join us
Books
Dispatches from Anarres
A 2022 Foreword INDIES finalist!
Available via > Powell's > Bookshop > Indiebound > Amazon
A Powell's Staff Pick, recommended by the Oregonian.
"DeFreitas collects 31 impressive stories to honor Ursula K. Le Guin’s legacy.…Speculative fiction readers will find much to enjoy in this well-crafted celebration."
—Publishers Weekly
"This anthology lights many fires from the brightly burning torch of Le Guin's timeless science fiction."
—Meg Elison, author of The Book of the Unnamed Midwife
"Each story is its own magical offering to be scooped up and savored by readers."
—Annie Carl, bookseller, The Neverending Bookshop
Susan's Impact
With Laura Stanfill of Forest Avenue Press, publisher of Dispatches from Anarres
Susan served writers engaging with issues of social and climate justice—and those seeking to engage with moral issues in a complex way—because she believed stories have the power to change the world, even in the most challenging of times.
Praise:
“Susan is a genius, and as important, while she doesn’t pull punches, she’s kind—a calm, supportive presence on those days when it feels like all is lost." —Lisa Cron, author of Story Genius
"The queen of the big picture.”
—Ariel Gore, author of We Were Witches
“I’ve got a shelf full of craft books but none has ever made me feel as empowered and ready to write as one session with Susan." —Kristin Brown
Learn More
About
Courses / Alt mea
Workshops Against Empire is the ONLY program that combines a complete framework for writing a publishable novel with a focus on the social impact of your story. Click here to learn more.
Does your novel have what it takes to get published?
Download Cracking the Code and find out! Free when you sign up for the Workshops Against Empire mailing list.
