About

Sara writes books and comics for teens and others.

Sara Ryan (they/them) is the author of the graphic novel Bad Houses with art by Carla Speed McNeil, young adult novels The Rules for Hearts and Empress of the World, a middle-grade novel, Mountain Upside Down (forthcoming), and various comics, short stories, and essays. They are on the faculty of the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

photo credit: Beth Olson

Sara grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the only child of two librarians in a book-filled house. Their writing has been honored by Lambda Literary, the Eisner Awards, the American Library Association, and the Oregon Book Awards, among other recognition.

Sara has worked as a fast-food cashier, a theater technician, a stringed-instruments-and-accessories seller, a preparer of materials for science experiments, a web designer for “JIFFY” Mix (briefly!), a teen services librarian, and a writing teacher. They’ve served as a mentor for We Need Diverse Books and a master class instructor with Writing the Other.

Sara lives in Portland, Oregon.

A few fun facts

Several Hieronymus Bosch figurines on top of a bookcase, plus an old red metal box, a Steiff hedgehog, a Chris Ware "Super-man" figurine, an ink bottle with dried flowers, a seashell, a small red vase, and a stopped clock with Roman numerals.

Sara collects Hieronymus Bosch figurines.

Sara Ryan as a small kid on a playground structure including a tire and a slide, wearing a red hoodie, white t-shirt, red skirt and bright red knee-high boots.

They’ve always enjoyed hoodies and boots.

The Sara Ryan: roasted delicata & onion, mozz, cream, chili, dukkah, salsa verde

They once had a pizza named after them.

Read Sara’s Work

Sara is interested in how we come to understand who we are, how we find community, and how our environments shape us. They like writing about friendship, love, secrets, and families, both biological and chosen.

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