Susan Percy, an award-winning journalist based in Metro Atlanta, has had a long career as an editor, writer, columnist, and reporter, specializing in business, politics, and government-related topics. Her great professional love is magazine journalism, where she found her greatest success. 

She was executive editor and editor of Georgia Trend, a monthly publication covering business and politics, from 2001 through 2013 and was subsequently editor-at-large and a regular contributor. She wrote an opinion column, “Business Casual,” later re-named “State of Mind,” for more than 20 years.

Under her leadership, the magazine won 30 first-, second-, or third-place awards for editorial excellence from local, regional, and national organizations, including the Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Alliance of Area Business Publications (AABP), the Magazine Association of the Southeast (MAGS), and the Atlanta Press Club.

Her own stories and columns have been honored many times over by professional organizations, with awards for feature-writing, commentary, and public service.  

She was inducted into the Magazine Association of the Southeast Hall of Fame in 2008 for her contributions to magazine journalism. In 2023, she was inducted into the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication's Grady Fellowship, an honor given to those whose work has brought credit to the college..

Prior to her work at Georgia Trend, Susan served as senior editor and managing editor at Atlanta Magazine; she has worked for newspapers in California and Louisiana. Additionally, her work has appeared in USA Today, The Reader’s Digest, Southern Accents, Southern Magazine, The Harvard Health Newsletter, Georgia Magazine, Terry Magazine, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Allure, and The Ladies’ Home Journal.

Her greatest influence and loudest cheerleader throughout her career was her late husband, the author and journalist Paul Hemphill.

Susan is a native Atlantan and a sixth-generation Georgian. She is a member of the Atlanta Press Club and a past member of UGA’s Grady Society Alumni Board, the Paideia School Board of Trustees, and Emory University Ethics Center’s Media Advisory Council. She lives in Decatur.