Sarah Tinsley

Sarah is a writer and writing coach. She had her first publication at the age of seven when she wrote a Christmas poem for Scholastic. Then there was a bit of a pause. Despite studying literature at University, she didn’t see other working-class women in the books she read. As a result, she didn’t take herself seriously as a writer until her thirties, when she completed an MA in Creative Writing at City University. Her writing aims to amplify marginalised voices and issues, particularly those related to discrimination and inequality based on gender and sexuality. Her debut novel, The Shadows We Cast, uses dual narrative to explore sexual assault from the point of view of the victim and the attacker, in a bid to better understand the deeply entrenched problems in society that make it so pervasive.

After spending fifteen years as a secondary school teacher, Sarah left to turn her attentions to creative pursuits. She was the director of Write By You, a company that is dedicated to giving confidence and passion to the underrepresented female writers of the future. She also ran writing workshops, feedback and coaching services for writers. Her short fiction has been published widely, including in Mslexia and Litro.

Sarah sadly passed away July 2024.

Author of (Most recent first)

Awards

Winner – 2020 Bookouture Prize – The Shadows We Cast

Longlisted – 2021 Laxfield Literary Launch Prize – The Shadows We Cast