About Me
Susan Kusel has turned a life as a book lover into many careers as an author, librarian and professional researcher.
She has worked as a synagogue and public librarian, a children’s bookstore buyer and bookseller and a theater manager.
She is a children's book expert and book reviewer. She has served on the Caldecott Medal selection committee and many other award committees. She holds a master's degree in library science from the University of Maryland.
She loves to cross stitch, ride her bike, compete in triathlons and bake challah. She lives in the Washington DC area with her husband and two kids and an adorable dog.
About Me
Q: How do you pronounce your last name?
Coo-sell. Here's a recording of me saying it.
Q: Why do you never recognize me?
A: I don't recognize anyone's face. It's not just you. I have a cognitive disorder called prosopagnosia (face blindness.) Please keep introducing yourself to me. I'll get it eventually!
Q: What are some of your favorite books?
A: Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin, The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
About The Passover Guest
Q: How long did the book take?
A: 10 years, from the first word to the publication day
Q: Where did you get the idea?
A: From the short story "The Magician" by I.L. Peretz, illustrated by Uri Shulevitz, which my mother read to me as a child.