Sara O'Leary

Sara O'Leary is a Canadian writer.[1] She has published fiction, children's books, plays, and criticism.[2] She is married to the poet and academic Daniel O’Leary and they have two sons. She holds an MA in English and Creative Writing from Concordia University in Montreal and an MFA with a specialization in Screenwriting from the Program in Theatre, Film and Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.[3]

Children's Books

O'Leary is the author of The Henry Books, illustrated by Julie Morstad and published by Simply Read Books.[4][5][6][7] This series of picture books have proven very popular and there are currently over 100,000 copies of When You Were Small in print. It won the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award for 2007, and was also a CanWest Raise a Reader Beginning Reader Pick for that year. Where You Came From[8] was a finalist for the ForeWord Magazine 2008 Book of the Year. The final of The Henry Books trilogy, When I Was Small,[9][10] won the BC Book Prize for Best Children’s book in 2012. A new picture book collaboration with Julie Morstad, This Is Sadie, will be published by Tundra Books in 2015. She also blogs about children’s literature at 123oleary.

Plays

O'Leary's plays have been performed at numerous Fringe festivals and an early play, "The Dysfunctional Documentary," was nominated for a Sterling Drama Prize. Her play, "The Kitchen Sink," took first prize in Theatre BC’s National Playwriting Competition for 2003 and was subsequently produced by Frank Moher at Western Edge Theatre.

Literary Fiction and Criticism

A collection of postcard stories titled Wish You Were Here [11] was published by Exile Editions (1994) and followed up by a collection of short fiction titled Comfort Me With Apples (Thistledown, 1998).[12] O'Leary then went on to become a weekly literary columnist for both the Vancouver Sun and CBC Radio One.[13] Her fiction has appeared in publications such as Mslexia[14] Hobart,[15] and The Walrus[16] and her reviews appear in The Globe and Mail [17] and The National Post.[18] She is currently at work on a story collection titled The Art of Losing as well as a novel titled The Ghost in the House.

References

  1. ↑ "Sara O'Leary". QWFLiterary Database. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  2. ↑ Daschel, Marita. "Interview: Sara O'Leary". All Things Said & Done. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  3. ↑ Aulenback, Stephany. "Interview with Sara O'Leary, Author of When You Were Small". Crooked House. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Authors". Simply Read Books. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Sara O'Leary". Amazon.com. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  6. ↑ Spitzer, Helen. "Unbearably Charming: Sara O'Leary and the Henry Books". Bunch. Bunch Family Inc.
  7. ↑ "Chirp Author Interview: Sara O'Leary". Owlkids. Retrieved June 24, 2014. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  8. ↑ "Where You Came From". Quill & Quire. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  9. ↑ "When I Was Small". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  10. ↑ "When I Was Small". Quill & Quire. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  11. ↑ O'Leary, Sara (1994). Wish You Were Here. Google Books (Exile Editions). ISBN 9781550960419.
  12. ↑ "Sara O'Leary". Thistledown Press. Thistledown Press. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Sara O'Leary: Making It Up". CBC. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Bereaved". Mslexia,. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  15. ↑ O'Leary, Sara. "Signs and Wonders". Hobart.
  16. ↑ O'Leary, Sara. "If Things Happen For a Reason". The Walrus.
  17. ↑ O'Leary, Sara. "New Kate Atkinson Novel Takes Seductive Approach to Time". The Globe and Mail. Philip Crawley.
  18. ↑ "Sara O'Leary". The National Post. Retrieved June 24, 2014.