Suneeta Peres da Costa was born in Sydney, Australia ~ on Gadigal Country of the Eora Nation ~ and is of Goan heritage. She writes fiction, non-fiction, plays and poetry. She also works as an editor, mentor, teacher, occasional literary critic and social policy consultant.
The Prodigal, her debut poetry collection, was published by The Giramondo Publishing Company in November 2024. Her previous book, a novella Saudade (Giramondo, 2019; Transit Books USA & Canada, 2019; China Workers Publishing House, 2024), was shortlisted for the 2019 Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards, the 2020 Adelaide Festival of Literature Awards and a finalist in the 2020 Tournament of Books (USA). Her earlier novel, Homework, was published internationally in the US, UK and Australia by Bloomsbury, translated into German by Rowohlt Verlag, and shortlisted for the Nita Dobbie Literary Award.
Her plays for stage and radio include The Art of Straying, Estranged Muse, Water, Fire, Watermark, I am an Island, Angelina’s Song and Children See Everything.
Over the years, Suneeta has worked with the National Gallery of Victoria, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the National Museum of Australia, Sydney Review of Books, Meanjin, Southerly, Australian Theatre for Young People, Sydney Theatre Company and Belvoir St Theatre, among other organisations.
Her honours include awards, fellowships and residencies from the Literature Board of Creative Australia, Create NSW, Asialink Arts, The Copyright Agency, The Corporation of Yaddo, MacDowell, Ian Reed Foundation, The Bundanon Trust, Varuna – The Writers’ House, the Valparaiso Foundation and the Marten Bequest.
Suneeta has been a guest of many national and international literary festivals, including Sydney Writers' Festival, Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, the Stuttgarter Buchwochen and Brooklyn Book Festival.
A former Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar, Suneeta completed a Master of Fine Arts in Writing at Sarah Lawrence College, New York and taught writing for many years at her alma mater, the University of Technology, Sydney.
She is committed to the arts as a vehicle for social and ecological justice, sovereignty, equity and diversity.
For public speaking, creative writing workshop, mentoring, manuscript assessment, editorial and other, including public policy, writing service queries, please contact Suneeta here.
Copyright © 2024 Suneeta Peres da Costa. Photograph Cedit: Ana Tiwary