The short bio:

Sara grew up in Vermont where she developed a love for the outdoors, even if it is just looking at it from the inside. After practicing law in Washington, D.C. for a couple of years, she moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where her love of story-telling increased, helped greatly by her growing family. After a stint in Baltimore, MD and Cuernavaca, Mexico, she found what she hopes will be her forever home in Providence, RI. Sara has participated in many children’s writing courses and writing conferences. She is an active member of SCBWI and 12x12.

SaraDorschHeadShot

And the long version:

Sara grew up with her two brothers on a mountainside in Vermont where the maple trees were all tapped for sap. Maybe that is why she loves syrup so much.

Her junior year abroad in Spain was her favorite part of college. After a failed attempt at being a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras, she moved to Washington DC where she worked for several non-profits, putting her Spanish fluency to good use. Upon graduating from law school, she specialized in special education law for children in the foster care system where she saw first-hand the difficulties so many children experience in our public schools.

When her husband accepted a job with United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, they moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with their 10- month old son. Sara tried to learn Amharic which did not work out very well. She started the first restaurant review column in an English language newspaper. On beautiful days, they would drive up a mountain and have a picnic overlooking the valley filled with one lone acacia tree.  

After a stint in Baltimore, the family moved to Cuernavaca, Mexico. The conversations at the lunch table flipped between English and Spanish depending on which parent was speaking. With opportunities to travel and explore the country and culture, stories abounded and Sara began to write picture books.

Now she lives in Providence, RI where she hopes to live for a long time. Most mornings find Sara out walking in her beautiful neighborhood, and working on sticky points in plots. When she is not thinking of stories, Sara can be found messing in local politics, knitting, cooking, practicing pilates, or watching soccer games live or on tv.

An active member of SCBWI, Julie Hedlund’s 12x12 Writing Challenge, and the Writers’ Loft, she can be found on Instagram and Facebook

 

Education:

  • 1988: Goucher College, BA, Women’s Studies and Political Science

  • 1996: DC School of Law, JD

  • 2012: RISD, Writing for Children’s Books

  • 2015: 2016: Intensive Picture Book Workshop I and II by Anastasia Suen

  • 2015: KidLitWriting School, Picture Book A to Z Revising Picture Books by Sudipta Bardhan-Quall

  • 2017: The Children’s Book Academy, Craft and Business of Writing Children’s Books by Mira Reisburg

  • 2017: Reading for Research ReFoReMo

  • 2018: Reading for Research ReFoReMo

  • 2020: Reading for Research ReFoReMo

  • 2022: Vermont College of the Fine Arts, MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults

Workshops & Conferences:

  • 2013: NESCBWI Encore conference

  • 2014: SCBWI New York City conference

  • 2015, 2016: SCBWI’s Whispering Pines Writer’s Retreat

  • 2023: SCBWI’s Squam Lake Writer’s Retreat

  • various classes and programs at the Writing Loft

Special thanks to my three wonderful kids for the use of all their artwork.

Three fun things you might not know about me:

I have traveled to every inhabited continent.

I like to cook food from other countries and cultures which often lead me to wonder how the food was discovered.

In 8th grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia and still love to write and read.