Nationally known writer and naturalist Susan Cerulean will appear virtually at Saint Leo University on Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m. 

Saint Leo University Invites Public to Zoom Guest Lecture Featuring Florida Author and Naturalist Susan Cerulean

Her appearance is scheduled in honor of Women’s History Month and will feature a reading by the author, followed by time for questions and answers. Two Saint Leo College of Arts and Sciences faculty members will serve as co-hosts for the author event, which is also open to the public at no charge.

Cerulean’s latest book, “I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird: A Daughter’s Memoir,” was published in summer 2020 by the University of Georgia Press. It is a memoir concentrating on the years during which she cared for her late father, who had dementia during his last years. Also during that period, Cerulean found some consolation in serving as a volunteer steward protecting nesting shorebirds along the Florida coastline. Her book weaves the experiences together. 

Cerulean is also the author of “Coming to Pass: Florida’s Coastal Islands in a Gulf of Change,” which won a Gold Medal for Florida Nonfiction in 2016. Her nature memoir, “Tracking Desire: A Journey after Swallow-tailed Kites” was published in 2005 and named an Editors’ Choice by Audubon magazine. 

The author and her husband divide their time between Tallahassee and Indian Pass, a community along the coast of the Florida Panhandle. Cerulean is married to oceanographer and climate scientist Jeffrey Chanton of Florida State University. 

Gianna Russo, assistant professor of English and creative writing, and Christopher Miller, professor of ecology and biology, will co-host the session with Cerulean. The event is sponsored by The Sandhill Writers Retreat, the Department of Language Studies and the Arts, and Department of Mathematics and Science, which are all units within the College of Arts and Sciences. 

To attend, register in advance for this guest visit, use this link: https://saintleo.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYpdu-tqj0uGt1jc6b8Zb7wDgMORVpQ_6Ru. Expect to receive an email with more details in response. 

For any questions about attending, contact one of these organizers from Arts and Sciences: gianna.russo@saintleo.edu or megan.case@saintleo.edu .  

More background about the author, other published works, and her environmental work can be found the University of Georgia Press website, which is helping to promote this event.  

About Saint Leo University

Saint Leo University is one of the largest Catholic universities in the nation, offering 57 undergraduate and graduate-level degree programs to more than 18,200 students each year. Founded in 1889 by Benedictine monks, the private, nonprofit university is known for providing values-based education to learners of all backgrounds and ages in the liberal arts tradition. Saint Leo is regionally accredited and offers a residential campus in the Tampa Bay region of Florida, 16 education centers in five states, and an online program for students anywhere. The university is home to more than 98,000 alumni. Learn more at saintleo.edu.