Susan Power, now publishing under the name "Mona Susan Power," is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe (Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋna Dakhóta). She was born and raised in Chicago. She earned her bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a JD from Harvard Law School. She decided to become a writer, starting her career by earning an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop.
Her fellowships include an Iowa Arts Fellowship, James Michener Fellowship, Radcliffe Bunting Institute Fellowship, Princeton Hodder Fellowship, United States Artists Fellowship, McKnight Fellowship, and Native Arts & Cultures Foundation Fellowship.
She resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Her newest novel is A Council of Dolls (forthcoming in August 2023 from Mariner/HarperCollins).