Sarah Prineas
Sarah Prineas is the author of middle-grade fantasy novels The Magic Thief (HarperCollins, 2008), The Magic Thief: Lost (HarperCollins, 2009), and The Magic Thief: Found (HarperCollins 2010). Foreign rights to the series have been sold in 19 languages, and audio versions are available in English, German, and Dutch. On its release, The Magic Thief received three starred reviews, and was a Booksense Top Ten Pick for spring/summer 2008. In addition, the book was a 2009 E.B. White Read-aloud Award honor book, was on the 2008 New York Public Library’s 100 Books for Reading and Sharing list, was a 2009 National Council of Teachers of English Notable Book in the Language Arts, was a Booklist Top Ten Debut Novels for Youth 2008, and was a 2008 Cybils Award finalist in the middle-grade fantasy category.
The Magic Thief is on 16 state reading lists and is Beehive Award winning children’s novel of the year in Utah, and a Golden Sower honor book in Nebraska. Other books from HarperCollins include Winterling (2012), its sequel, Summerkin (2013) and Moonkind (2014). A fourth Magic Thief book is coming in 2014.
Sarah has a PhD in English literature and has taught classes at the University of Iowa and Cornell College. Sarah lives in rural Iowa with her mad scientist husband, two odd children, a perfectly normal cat, and the best dogs in the world.
When and why did you begin writing and/or illustrating children's books?
My first novel was this terrible adult historical fantasy that took me four years to write. When that was finished and then hidden away on my hard drive (I knew it was terrible), I started working on The Magic Thief, which I wrote in an inspired whirl in 2006. When writing I wasn’t thinking of it as a kids book, I was just putting in all my favorite fantasy things: magic, adventure, peril, dragons, wizards, swordfights, biscuits and bacon…
What inspires or informs your writing and/or art?
Two authors inspire me, both for the same reason: J.R.R. Tolkien and Laura Ingalls Wilder. Both of them create worlds/settings that feel absolutely real to the reader. Like so many readers, I love returning to both Middle-earth and to the prairie.
What do you want young readers to learn or take away from your work?
It’s a Tolkien-like sentiment: that one person can make a difference in the world.
Is there an artist or writer you would consider and mentor and why?
My true mentor is a writer named Charles Coleman Finlay (http://www.ccfinlay.com/), who writes fantasy novels for adults, and also award-winning short stories that have been published in many languages. As a mentor at the Online Writing Workshop (http://sff.onlinewritingworkshop.com), Charlie was the first to give me advice about the ins and outs of writing and publishing, and later he invited me to a writing workshop that made all the difference in my writing career. He’s still somebody I turn to for advice and support, as well as friendship.
Did you have any formal writing or art education, if so, where?
In college I took a creative writing class, and I have a PhD in English literature. While that degree didn’t teach me to write stories, I did teach a lot of introductory composition classes, and that taught me an enormous amount about how writing works.
Do you have a favorite published book? If so, what makes it special?
As a writer, I am very fickle and usually love my most recent book best. That said, The Magic Thief holds a special place in my heart because it was the first.
