Sara grew up in Toronto writing in her diary and sprouting fiction in her mind while daydreaming through school. Her first story was committed to paper in grade one. It was about a bunny, or so her Oma always said. Her amateur writing career continued in grade four when her first book was published by her teacher – The Very Scary Hunt featured a shy girl that found her strength within. Writing about women and children saving the day has remained her passion, although she hopes she has improved in style and sophistication!
Her imagination helped her escape school bullies until she found her own strength within to ignore them. Stories about lost homework or missed buses helped her avoid frustrated teachers – to a point.
After an inspiring year learning in Jerusalem, Sara returned to Toronto to complete her Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and English at York University. In addition to her B.A., she also achieved her Mrs.
In 2003, she moved with her husband to Israel and planted roots in Modi’in Illit. With a little water, a lot of sunlight and the most important ingredient – love – she has been growing her family and stories that reflect the tiny choices that can make a world of difference.
Sara is one of those rare, fortunate people making a living doing work she loves. And her dream is to empower others to do the same.
Writing for over 30 years
Sara Sumner has been writing for over 30 years. She was a regular attendee of Shifrah Devorah Witt’s writing classes in Jerusalem for a number of years. Sara received a creative writing certificate from Humber College in Toronto and completed Suri Brand’s copyediting course. She has been an active member of the Kiryat Sefer Writer’s Group since 2006. She has been an active member of the Soferet Google Group since its inception.
In 2006, Sara completed her first NaNoWriMo (an event that encourages writers to write 50,000 words in one month) and has been participating off and on ever since. In 2019, she took her participation to the next level by creating the SofNaNoWriMo Google Group. Through this forum she is able to encourage other writers to set up a regular writing habit – one of the foundations of building a career in writing.
Published Writer
Sara’s fiction has been published in Ami Magazine, Binah Magazine, Inyan Magazine and Endurance Magazine.
Her adult novel, Wherever You Are, was published by Menuchah Publishers in 2019. Sara’s middle grade novel, Chaos in the Kitchen, was published in 2021 also by Menuchah Publishers. The second installment of the Super Sleuth Trio is due to be released in the coming year.
Her creative non-fiction can be seen on Aish.com.
