“A good day: doodle until I love the little birds I’ve made. Make eggs new ways. Write so I can laugh at my own jokes.”

artist@saradewaal.com

Sara de Waal is a writer and teacher living part time in Sioux Center, Iowa, part time in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and sometimes off-the-grid in a little red cabin in the Cariboo. Currently, Sara teaches Creative Writing in the university classroom, but over the years, she has made her teacher-home in both primary music and art, as well as the quirky land of middle school. She continues to visit classrooms of all ages to facilitate poetry workshops, mucking about in the delightful and dangerous land of words with whoever dares to join.

Sara’s first picture book, 48 Grasshopper Estates was published through Annick Press in April 2021. A story about building art and community, the book was inspired by Sara’s love for finding treasures and making something beautiful with things other people have thrown away. Sara’s second picture book, The Biggest Smallest Thing, also celebrates creativity and kindness and will be released on April 8, 2025. Both Sara’s books are available to order through Indigo/Chapters, Amazon, or through your local bookstore.

Sara also writes for adults. Her creative non-fiction has been published in Geist Magazine and short-listed for Room Magazine’s Creative Non Fiction Prize. In 2020, her short story, “Cecilia and Richard,” won the Inaugural Bridge Prize for Fiction. The award and the author were featured in The Ubyssey, The Christian Courier, and The Dordt Voice.

Whether she’s writing poetry or fiction, or working on a daily doodle, Sara makes art to practice seeing and loving the world better.