Sarah Ward writes Young Adult fiction, fiction, poetry and journal articles in the field of child welfare. Over a thirty-year career as a social worker, Sarah has worked with young adults and families with harrowing backgrounds. Her understanding of family dynamics brings her fiction to life. She is not afraid to delve into the darkest corners of a character’s history, bringing true-to-life details and depth to her storytelling.
Sarah is the author of Aesop Lake, published by Green Writers Press in 2018 and a self-published novel, Stone Sisters. She won the 2007 Editor’s Choice Award for the New England Anthology of Poetry for her poem “Warmer Waters,” and has been a member of the League of Vermont Writers since 2008. As a social worker, Sarah has published several journal articles, and co-authored a piece published winter 2017 in Child and Family Services Review regarding social worker safety.
Sarah’s adult children, both talented artists in their own right, are her greatest joy. Hailey, is a musician and singer-song writer and Logan is a visual artist.
Her inspiration for writing her most-recent novel, Aesop Lake, came from a local news story about a young man who was bullied for being gay. When her youngest child came out at the age of fourteen and experienced being bullied by peers in rural Vermont, Sarah knew that she had to tell this story. Her depth of professional training and experience with youth who have committed crimes and with victims struggling to recover, as well as the personal family experience, makes her the ideal author to tell this story.
In her limited spare time, Sarah enjoys a good book, a little yoga and a cup of tea in her home in Williston, Vermont.
See Sarah’s favorite books and what she is currently reading on Goodreads
Sarah Ward 