Sara Zarr
| Sara Zarr | |
|---|---|
|
Zarr at the 2011 SCBWI conference | |
| Born |
October 3, 1970 Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 2007 - present |
| Genre | Young adult fiction, essays |
| Website | |
|
sarazarr | |
Sara Zarr (born October 3, 1970) is an American writer. She was raised in San Francisco, and now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband.[1] Her first novel, Story of a Girl, was a 2007 National Book Award finalist.[2] She is also the author of Sweethearts and Once Was Lost. All three are published by Little, Brown.[3]
Biography
Born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in San Francisco, she earned a degree in communications from San Francisco State University. Zarr grew up as an Evangelical Christian, a faith with which she still associates though she lives in a predominately Mormon community.[4] Her first three manuscripts were never published, but after winning the Utah Arts Council best young-adult novel of 2003,[5] she was able to find an agent who successfully sold Story of a Girl as the first of a two-book deal.[6]
Inspired by the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart and Zarr's Christian roots, Once Was Lost addresses issues of faith, identity and home. The title comes from the hymn Amazing Grace written by John Newton.[7] While the characters are Christian, the book was published for a mainstream audience and neither promotes nor criticizes organized religion.
In 2008, Zarr contributed to the young adult for Obama project started by fellow YA author Maureen Johnson. Zarr's articles included "Red State Jesus Freaks for Obama" and "Personal Sacrifice."[8]
In 2013, Zarr began teaching at Lesley University’s Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program.[9]
Bibliography
Standalone novels
- 2007 — Story of a Girl
- 2008 — Sweethearts
- 2009 — Once Was Lost (Republished as What We Lost in 2013)
- 2011 — How to Save a Life
- 2013 — The Lucy Variations
- 2013 — Roomies co-written with Tara Altebrando
Zarr also reads the audio version of her books.
Short fiction
- "This Is My Audition Monologue" appears in Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci, 2009
Essays
- "It Is Good" appears in Does This Book Make Me Look Fat?, edited by Marissa Walsh, 2008
- "Who Is My Mother, Who Are My Brothers?" first appeared in Image, and appears in Jesus Girls: True Tales of Growing Up Female and Evangelical, edited by Hannah Faith Notess, 2009
Awards
- Story of a Girl - 2007 National Book Award finalist; 2008 American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults[10]
- Sweethearts - 2008 Cybil Award Finalist;[11] 2009 American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults [12]
- Story of a Girl (audiobook) - 2009 American Library Association Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults [13]
References
- ↑ "Class of 2k7 Sara Zarr". Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- ↑ "The National Book Foundation". Nationalbook.org. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
- ↑ Sara Zarr at Goodreads
- ↑ "Mr. Media - Young adult novelist Sara Zarr finds third time with Mr. Media is the charm! (Or does she?) - Blubrry Podcast Community". Blubrry.com. 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
- ↑ Archived March 31, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Characters, small events are focus of Utah author". Deseret Morning News. 2007-03-18.
- ↑ "Young adult novelist Sara Zarr finds third time with Mr. Media is the charm! (Or does she?)" (Interview). Mr. Media. 2007-03-18.
- ↑ Archived March 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Sara Zarr - Lesley University". Lesley.edu. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
- ↑ "Best Books for Young Adults 2008". Archived from the original on January 18, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
- ↑ "The 2008 Cybils" (PDF). Dadtalk.typepad.com. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
- ↑ Archived April 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Archived January 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
External links
- Official website
- Little Brown author page
- Sara Zarr at Library of Congress Authorities, with 7 catalog records