Donna Freitas
Headshot for Donna Freitas
Agent: Miriam Altshuler
Personal Website

Donna Freitas has written more than twenty books, both fiction and nonfiction, for adults, children, and young adults. Among them are Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention (Little, Brown), Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance & Religion on College Campuses (Oxford University Press), and The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano (Viking/Penguin), which has been translated into 20 languages. Donna has spoken at over two hundred colleges and universities to discuss her nonfiction research, and she’s been a featured speaker at Q Christian Fellowship Conference and many other Christian and secular organizations. She has written for The Washington PostThe New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and appeared on radio and television from NPR’s All Things Considered to CNN and The Today Show. She is currently faculty at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s MFA program in Creative Writing. Donna loves cooking, spending time with her friends, and eating. She and her husband split their time between Barcelona and Brooklyn.

Praise for WISHFUL THINKING:

“Donna writes about all the difficult things in life — accidents, illness, break-ups, abuse — in her signature incisive style using words to slash scenes into being, carving feelings out of vowels, and connecting us through what she calls ’the magic of writing…' Soulful and sparse, her prose cuts right to the core. I truly appreciate Donna’s candor, bravery, and openness in her latest fabulous read.” - Zibby Owens, author of Blank and Bookends; host of the podcast Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books; CEO of Zibby Media

"A beautiful exploration of what it really means to find ourselves—and faith—when it seems like all hope is lost." -Amy Scher, HOW SHOULD WE IDENTIFY HER?

“Anyone who ever struggled with the longing for a faith they left behind will  be grateful for this radiantly wise memoir by Donna Freitas, who brings a piercing clarity and hard-won joy to her radically honest appraisal of the gifts and the burdens of belief.” - Carlene Bauer, author of Girls They Write Songs About

“Donna Freitas writes with a lucid, searching honesty.  Wishful Thinking is a colorful memoir of a Catholic childhood, and what came after… This is a book for anyone who wonders how--even long after one has left the religious tradition of one's origins--it continues to leave its imprint in surprising ways." - Rene Steinke, author of Friendswood

Praise for STEFI AND THE SPANISH PRINCE:

"Stefi and The Spanish Prince is a dreamy (and steamy!) escape to Barcelona, full of rich descriptions of the city's food, people, and culture. It'll leave you feeling hungry—for romance, and tapas." —Jordyn Taylor, award-winning author of The Paper Girl of Paris and The Revenge Game 

  • WISHFUL THINKING
    Worthy Publishing, 2024
  • THE NINE LIVES OF ROSE NAPOLITANO
    Pamela Dorman Books, 2021
  • THE BIG QUESTIONS BOOK OF SEX & CONSENT
    Levine Querido, 2020
  • CONSENT: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention
    Little, Brown, 2019
  • THE HEALER
    HarperTeen, 2019
  • CONSENT ON CAMPUS: A MANIFESTO
    Oxford University Press, 2018
  • THE BODY MARKET
    HarperTeen, 2017
  • THE MIND VIRUS
    HarperTeen, 2017
  • THE HAPPINESS EFFECT
    Oxford University Press, 2017
  • UNPLUGGED
    HarperTeen, 2016
  • THE TENDERNESS OF THIEVES
    Philomel/Penguin, 2015
  • GOLD MEDAL WINNER
    Arthur A. Levine Books, 2014
  • END OF SEX, THE
    Basic Books, 2013
  • GOLD MEDAL SUMMER
    Arthur A. Levine Books, 2012
  • THIS GORGEOUS GAME
    Frances Foster Books, 2010
  • THE SURVIVAL KIT
    Frances Foster Books, 2010
  • SEX & THE SOUL: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America’s College Campuses
    Oxford University Press, 2008
  • THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD
    Frances Foster Books, 2008
  • KILLING THE IMPOSTER GOD
    Jossey-Bass, 2007
  • STEFI AND THE SPANISH PRINCE
    Forthcoming from Harper Teen