Handmade Narratives
This beautifully illustrated collection of short stories celebrates craft traditions and the people who practice them. Through Sarah's elegant prose, readers meet a ceramic artist in Kyoto, a leatherworker in Argentina, a bookbinder in Portland—each with their own story about why craft matters.
The book was a finalist in three major fiction competitions and has been adopted in university creative writing programs. Readers describe the stories as both intimate and universal—deeply personal yet speaking to something we all long for.
Sarah spent five years traveling and interviewing artisans to research these stories. Each story in the collection is grounded in real encounters, real makers, and real workshops. The fiction emerges from truthful observation.
"I wanted to honor the real artisans I met while also exploring the emotional truths of craft work. These stories are dedicated to every person who chooses to make things by hand in a world that makes it increasingly difficult to do so."
"BookWriters Press understood that this book needed to be a beautiful object. The illustrations, the paper, the typography—every detail reinforces the themes about craft and care. They approached my book with the same intentionality I approach my writing. That shared commitment to excellence made all the difference."