Sara Zarr facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sara Zarr
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Zarr at the 2011 SCBWI conference
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| Born | October 3, 1970 Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 2007 - present |
| Genre | Young adult fiction, essays, short fiction |
Sara Zarr, born on October 3, 1970, is an American writer. She grew up in San Francisco and now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband. Her first book, Story of a Girl, was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2007. Since then, she has published nine more novels.
Contents
About Sara Zarr
Early Life and Education
Sara Zarr was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and spent her childhood in San Francisco. She went to San Francisco State University and earned a degree in communications. When she was young, Zarr was part of a Christian church group called the Jesus Movement.
How She Became a Writer
Before her first book was published, Sara Zarr wrote three other stories that were not picked up by publishers. However, in 2003, she won an award from the Utah Arts Council for the best unpublished young adult novel. This award helped her find a literary agent. Her agent then successfully sold Story of a Girl to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This deal included two books.
Books and Inspiration
Sara Zarr's third book, Once Was Lost (also known as What We Lost), was inspired by the story of Elizabeth Smart. It also drew from Zarr's Christian background. The book explores ideas about faith, finding your identity, and what "home" means. The original title, Once Was Lost, comes from the famous hymn Amazing Grace. Even though the characters in the book are Christian, the story was written for everyone, not just people of a certain religion. It doesn't try to promote or criticize organized religion.
Other Projects and Roles
In 2008, Sara Zarr joined a project called "young adult for Obama." This project was started by another young adult author, Maureen Johnson. Zarr also used to write regularly for a blog called Good Letters, which was part of Image Journal.
In 2010, she was chosen to be a judge for the National Book Awards. This is a very important role in the world of books. In 2013, Zarr became a teacher at Lesley University. She taught in their Master of Fine Arts program for creative writing.
From 2012 to 2015, and again from 2020 until now, Sara Zarr hosted and produced a podcast called This Creative Life. On the podcast, she talked with other writers about their work. She also wrote a book that goes along with the podcast.
Her 2017 novel, Gem & Dixie, was partly based on some of her own experiences growing up. With this book, Zarr started working with a new publisher, HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray.
Story of a Girl as a Movie
Sara Zarr's first novel, Story of a Girl, was made into a television movie. The movie first aired on Lifetime in July 2017. This film was the first time actress Kyra Sedgwick directed a movie. Her husband, Kevin Bacon, also appeared in the film.
Awards and Recognition
Sara Zarr's books have won several awards and nominations:
- Story of a Girl was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2007. It was also named one of the Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association in 2008.
- Sweethearts was a finalist for the Cybil Award in 2008. It was also on the American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults list in 2009 and was a finalist for the Utah Book Award.
- The audiobook version of Story of a Girl was listed as one of the Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults by the American Library Association in 2009.
- Once Was Lost won the Utah Book Award and the INSPY Award in 2009.
- How to Save a Life won the Utah Book Award and the Salt Lake City Weekly Arty Award for Fiction in 2011.
- Gem & Dixie was a finalist for the PEN Los Angeles Literary Prize in 2017.
Personal Life
Sara Zarr has shared that her experiences growing up have influenced her writing. She got married in 1990 and she and her husband do not have children.
