Press Kit
Official Bio
Sarah Beth Durst is the award-winning author of over twenty books for kids, teens, and adults, including
Spark, Drink Slay Love, and
The Queens of Renthia series. She won an American Library Association Alex Award and a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award and has been
a finalist for SFWA's Andre Norton Nebula Award three times.
She is a graduate of Princeton University and lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband, her children, and her ill-mannered cat.
Visit her at sarahbethdurst.com.
Author Photo
 Click for high resolution author photo
About THE LAKE HOUSE
Title: THE LAKE HOUSE
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: HarperTeen / HarperCollins
Cover Art: Elena Masci
On Sale: April 25, 2023 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0063214071 (Hardcover)
AISN: B0B8PKCRTH (Audiobook)
Description: Three strangers. One secret waiting to be unleashed. A YA survival thriller from award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Other Editions: Audiobook (HarperAudio)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About THE SHELTERLINGS
Title: THE SHELTERLINGS
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Clarion Books / HarperCollins
Cover Art: Brandon Dorman
On Sale: June 21, 2022 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780358350392 (Hardcover)
AISN: B09R34G4CX (Audiobook)
Description: A group of magical misfit animals learns to appreciate their seemingly useless powers -- and themselves -- when they work together to thwart a villain's attempt to steal their magic.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Other Editions: Audiobook (HarperAudio), Czech Translation (Euromedia Group)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About EVEN AND ODD
Title: EVEN AND ODD
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Cover Art: Brandon Dorman
On Sale: June 15, 2021 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780358350385 (Hardcover)
AISN: B08WJQYJRH (Audiobook)
Description: A half-magic girl learns about heroism and taking action when she and her sister confront a wizard who endangers others for her own gain.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: A Mighty Girl 2021 Book of the Year
Other Editions: Audiobook (HMH Young Readers Audio)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About THE BONE MAKER
Title: THE BONE MAKER
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Cover Art: Damonza
On Sale: March 9, 2021 (Trade Paperback)
ISBN: 9780062888631 (Trade Paperback)
AISN: B08BXBK4YB (Audiobook)
Description: A standalone epic fantasy about bone magic, second chances, and five former heroes -- one broken, one gone soft, one pursuing a simple life, one unable to let go of the past, and one dead.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: An Amazon Best SFF Book of March 2021, An Apple Best Book of the Month
Other Editions: Audiobook (HarperAudio)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About CATALYST
Title: CATALYST
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Cover Art: Brandon Dorman
On Sale: June 9, 2020 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780358065029 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780358454625 (Paperback)
AISN: B088P85LN7 (Audiobook)
Description: Zoe named the kitten Pipsqueak, because she was so tiny, and promised to always take care of her. Then the kitten grew. And grew. Now she's bigger than a horse -- and talking as well! How will Zoe keep her new friend safe? A magical adventure about change, expectation, and accepting all for who they truly are -- regardless of shape or size.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: Booklist Starred Review, An Amazon Best Book of June 2020
Other Editions: Audiobook (Recorded Books), Russian Translation (Eksmo)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About RACE THE SANDS
Title: RACE THE SANDS
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Cover Art: Nekro
On Sale: April 21, 2020 (Trade Paperback)
ISBN: 9780062888617 (Trade Paperback)
AISN: B083WP9JQD (Audiobook)
Description: Two kickass women battle injustice, corruption, and deadly enemies in their quest to become monster racing champions.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: Publishers Weekly Starred Review, An Amazon Best SFF Book of the Year, An Amazon Best SFF Book of April 2020, A Kirkus Best Science Fiction / Fantasy Read for April 2020
Other Editions: Audiobook (HarperAudio)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About SPARK
Title: SPARK
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Cover Art: Brandon Dorman
On Sale: May 14, 2019 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781328973429 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780358206385 (Paperback)
AISN: B07QYB7T2X (Audiobook)
Description: When a shy girl and her lightning beast discover that their country's idyllic weather comes at a steep cost, they must defy authority to spread the truth. Even the quiestest voice can change the world.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: Booklist Starred Review, Summer 2019 Kids Indie Next List, Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award Nominee 2020-2021, Nebraska Golden Sower Award Nominee 2021-2022, Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee 2021-2022, Oregon Battle of the Books Nominee 2022-2023, an Amazon Best Book of May 2019, A Mighty Girl 2019 Book of the Year, Tome Society It List, Lectio Book Award Nominee
Other Editions: Audiobook (Recorded Books), Russian Translation (Eksmo)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About THE DEEPEST BLUE
Title: THE DEEPEST BLUE
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Cover Art: Larry Rostant
On Sale: March 19, 2019 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062690845 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062955418 (Trade Paperback)
ISBN: 9781982607395 (Audiobook)
Description: On the islands of Belene, women of power are sent to an island filled with bloodthirsty nature spirits and left with nothing but their instincts and magic.
Most will die. Those who survive will become heirs to the queen.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: Booklist Starred Review
Other Editions: Audiobook (HarperAudio)
 Click
for high resolution cover art
About FIRE AND HEIST
Title: FIRE AND HEIST
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Penguin Random House / Crown Books for Young Readers
Cover Art: Stuart Wade at Diligence Studio
On Sale: December 4, 2018 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781101931004 (Hardcover)
Description: Think Ocean's Eleven with were-dragons! Sixteen-year-old Sky Hawkins is a socialite from a family of master thieves... and a were-dragon who must lead her first heist, if she wants to be accepted by her society. But on the night of her first heist, she discovers a dark truth that could reunite her family or tear them apart forever.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: Missouri Truman Readers Award Longlist Nominee, Tome Society It List
Foreign Editions: German Translation (cbj, Verlagsgruppe Random House)
 Click
for high resolution cover art
About THE QUEEN OF SORROW
Title: THE QUEEN OF SORROW, Book Three of The Queens of Renthia
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Cover Art: Stephan Martiniere
On Sale: May 15, 2018 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062413383 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062474155 (Paperback)
ISBN: 9781538519561 (Audiobook)
ISBN: 9783764532116 (German Translation from Penhaligon Verlag)
Description: The battle between vicious spirits and strong-willed queens that started in the award-winning The Queen of Blood and continued in the powerful The Reluctant Queen comes to a stunning conclusion in The Queen of Sorrow, the final volume of Sarah Beth Durst's The Queens of Renthia trilogy.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: 2 starred reviews
Foreign/Other Editions: German Translation (Penhaligon / Random House), Australian Edition (HarperCollins Australia), Audiobook (HarperAudio)
 Click
for high resolution cover art
About THE STONE GIRL'S STORY
Title: THE STONE GIRL'S STORY
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / Clarion Books
Cover Art: Brandon Dorman
On Sale: April 3, 2018 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781328729453 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781328603913 (Paperback)
ISBN: 9781501997426 (Audiobook from Recorded Books)
Description: Exploring the power of stories and storytelling, Sarah Beth Durst presents the mesmerizing adventure of a girl made of living stone who braves unforeseen dangers and magical consequences on a crucial quest to save her family.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Selection, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Finalist, Cybils Award Finalist, 2 Starred Reviews
Other Editions: Audiobook (Recorded Books)
 Click
for high resolution cover art
About THE RELUCTANT QUEEN
Title: THE RELUCTANT QUEEN, Book Two of The Queens of Renthia
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Cover Art: Stephan Martiniere
On Sale: July 4, 2017 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062413352 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062474117 (Paperback)
ISBN: 9781538419199 (Audiobook)
ISBN: 9783764532000 (German Translation from Penhaligon Verlag)
Description: The fate of two nations depends on three women: a young queen who is dying, a powerful queen who hungers for war, and a middle-aged woman who wants nothing to do with the power she could wield. They must each do what they think is best for their kingdoms -- or die trying.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Foreign/Other Editions: Science Fiction Book Club, Audiobook (HarperAudio), German Translation (Penhaligon / Random House), Australian Edition (HarperCollins Australia)
 Click
for high resolution cover art
About ROAR AND SPARKLES GO TO SCHOOL
Title: ROAR AND SPARKLES GO TO SCHOOL
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Illustrator: Ben Whitehouse
Publisher: Hachette / Running Press Kids
On Sale: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 9780762459865 (Hardcover)
Description: A new picture book about the first day of school... with dragons!
Reviews: click here to read reviews
 Click
for high resolution cover art
About JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS
Title: JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIDDEN ISLANDS
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Cover Art: Brandon Dorman
On Sale: April 4, 2017 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780544706798 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781328941657 (Paperback)
ASIN: B071XWPL1T (Audiobook)
Description: Two sisters, one winged lion, and a LOT of monsters in an action-filled, funny, and heartwarming
fantasy from the author of The Girl Who Could Not Dream.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Foreign/Other Editions: Available in Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish through GIRL:IT (Stabenfeldt); Audiobook (Recorded Books)
 Click
for high resolution cover art
About THE QUEEN OF BLOOD
Title: THE QUEEN OF BLOOD, Book One of The Queens of Renthia
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Cover Art: Stephan Martiniere
On Sale: September 20, 2016 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062413345 (US Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780062474094 (US Paperback)
ISBN: 9781441714640 (US Audiobook)
ISBN: 9780062662064 (Australian Edition from HarperCollins Australia)
ISBN: 9783764531881 (German Translation from Penhaligon Verlag)
ISBN: 9785041153670 (Russian Translation from Eksmo)
Description: An idealistic young student and a banished warrior become allies in a battle to save their realm in this
first book of a mesmerizing epic fantasy series, filled with political intrigue, violent magic, malevolent spirits, and thrilling adventure.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: 3 Starred Reviews, ALA Alex Award, a Barnes & Noble Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Book of 2016,
a Tor.com Reviewers' Choice Best Book of 2016, a Science Fiction Book Club Selection
Foreign/Other Editions: German Translation (Penhaligon / Random House), Australian Edition (HarperCollins Australia), Portuguese Translation (Brazil) (Hunter Books), Russian Translation (Eksmo), Audiobook (HarperAudio)
 Click
for high resolution cover art
About THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM
Title: THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / Clarion Books
Cover Art for Hardcover: Andrea Femerstrand
Cover Art for Paperback: Manuel Sumberac
On Sale: November 3, 2015 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780544464971 (US Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780544935266 (US Paperback)
ASIN: B0161QOXIQ (US Audiobook)
ISBN: 9783785585832 (German Translation from Loewe)
ISBN: 9785041032074 (Russian Translation from Eksmo)
Description: THE GIRL WHO COULD NOT DREAM tells of a girl whose family owns a secret store where they buy, bottle,
and sell dreams, but who can't have any of her own, and the adventure that she and her pet monster go on when someone starts kidnapping dreamers.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: 2 Starred Reviews, Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award 3rd Place Winner, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature Finalist, a Kirkus Best Middle-Grade Book of 2015, an Amazon Best Book of November 2015
Foreign/Other Editions: Czech Translation (Fragment/Albatros), German Translation (Loewe Verlag), Russian Translation (Eksmo), Audiobook (Recorded Books)
 Click
for high resolution cover art
About CHASING POWER
Title: CHASING POWER
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Cover Art: Nicole Gastonguay
On Sale: October 14, 2014 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780802737557 (Hardcover)
Description: CHASING POWER is the story of Kayla, a sixteen-year-old girl who can move things with
her mind, and Daniel, a boy who can teleport across continents and who lies as easily as he travels. Together, they embark on an Indiana-Jones-style adventure to find
and steal an ancient incantation, written on three indestructible stones and hidden millennia ago, all to rescue Daniel's kidnapped mother. But Kayla has no idea that
this rescue mission will lead back to her own family, and to betrayals that she may not be able to forgive... or survive.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Foreign/Other Editions: German Translation (Papierverzierer Verlag), Audiobook (Audible)
 Click
for high resolution cover art
About THE LOST
Title: THE LOST
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Harlequin / Mira
On Sale: May 27, 2014 (Trade Paperback)
ISBN: 9780778317111 (Trade Paperback)
Description: Lost your way? Your dreams? Yourself? Welcome to Lost. It was supposed to be a small escape. A few hours driving
before turning around and heading home. But once you arrive in Lost... well, it's a place you really can't leave. THE LOST is about a woman named Lauren Chase, who becomes trapped in a town full of
only lost things and lost people.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Film: Film Rights to actress Selma Blair (Sainted Productions)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About CONJURED
Title: CONJURED
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Bloomsbury / Walker Books for Young Readers
Cover Art: Nicole Gastonguay
On Sale: September 3, 2013 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9780802734587 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781442423770 (Paperback)
ASIN: B00IIXKW8Q (Audiobook)
Description: CONJURED is about a teen in the paranormal witness protection program, who, haunted by visions of carnival tents and tarot cards, must remember her past and why she has strange abilities before a magic-wielding serial killer hunts her down.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: A Junior Library Guild Selection, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature Finalist, Cybils F/SF YA Award Finalist
Foreign/Other Editions: Scholastic Book Fair, Audiobook (Audible), German Translation (Papierverzierer Verlag)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About VESSEL
Title: VESSEL
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Simon & Schuster / Margaret K. McElderry Books
Cover Art: Jaime Ibarra
On Sale: September 11, 2012 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781442423763 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781442423770 (Paperback)
Description: In a desert land where serpents made of unbreakable glass fly through the sky and wolves made of only sand hunt within storms, Liyana is destined to be a vessel, to sacrifice herself so her clan's goddess can inhabit her body... but her goddess never comes.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: 3 Starred Reviews, Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature Winner, Andre Norton Nebula Award Finalist, Kirkus Best Teen Books, Cybils F/SF YA Award Finalist, Garden State Teen Book Awards Finalist
 Click for high resolution cover art
About DRINK, SLAY, LOVE
Title: DRINK, SLAY, LOVE
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Simon & Schuster / Margaret K. McElderry Books
Cover Art: Evan Schwartz and Jessica Handelman
On Sale: September 13, 2011 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781442423732 (US Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781442423749 (US Paperback)
ISBN: 9781742379166 (Aus/NZ Paperback from Allen & Unwin, Dec 2011)
Description: Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire, fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night she is stabbed through the heart by a were-unicorn's horn and begins to develop a conscience.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Foreign/Film: Film Rights to Sepia Films*, Australia / New Zealand Edition (Allen & Unwin), Russian Translation (Ripol Classic Publishers)
* DRINK SLAY LOVE premiered on Lifetime as a TV movie on 9/16/17, starring Cierra Ramirez and Gregg Sulkin, with executive producers Sheri Singer and Bella Thorne.
 Click for high resolution cover art
About ENCHANTED IVY
Title: ENCHANTED IVY
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Simon & Schuster / Margaret K. McElderry Books
Cover Art: Sam Weber
On Sale: October 12, 2010 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781416986454 (US Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781416986461 (US Paperback)
ISBN: 9783802586033 (German Translation from Egmont / Lyx, Aug 2012)
Description: A story about getting into college. You know, taking the campus tour, talking to the gargoyles, flirting with the were-tigers, riding the dragons...
While visiting the campus of Princeton University, 16-year-old Lily discovers a secret gate to a magical realm and must race against time to save herself, her world, and any hope she has of college admission.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Foreign Editions: German Translation (Egmont/Lyx)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About ICE
Title: ICE
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Simon & Schuster / Margaret K. McElderry Books
Cover Art: Cliff Nielsen
On Sale: October 6, 2009 (US Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781416986430 (US Hardcover)
ISBN: 9781416986447 (US Paperback)
ISBN: 9781847386571 (UK Paperback from S&S, 2009)
ISBN: 9783802586026 (German Translation from Egmont / Lyx, 2012)
ISBN: 9785386092870 (Russian Translation from Ripol Classic, 2016)
Description: A polar bear, true love, and one girl's impossible quest across the frozen North. Would you risk everything for a fairy tale?
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: Andre Norton Nebula Award Finalist, Boston Authors Club Young Readers Award Finalist
Foreign Editions: German Translation (Egmont/Lyx), UK Edition (Simon & Schuster UK), Russian Translation (Ripol Classic Publishers)
 Click for high resolution cover art
About OUT OF THE WILD
Title: OUT OF THE WILD
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group / Razorbill
Cover Art: square zero
On Sale: June 19, 2008 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-59514-159-0 (Hardcover)
Description: Join Julie, Rapunzel's daughter, on a magical road trip across America. A flying bathmat, a very drowsy princess, a fire-breathing dragon, and several thousand magic beanstalks... Julie's world, our world, will never be the same again. A sequel to 2007 Andre Norton Nebula Award Finalist Into the Wild.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
 Click for high resolution cover art
About INTO THE WILD
Title: INTO THE WILD
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group / Razorbill
Cover Art: square zero
On Sale: June 21, 2007 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-59514-156-9 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-59514-185-9 (Paperback)
Description: Julie is Rapunzel's daughter. Really, she is. Long ago, the fairy-tale characters escaped the fairy tale to live in secret in our world. But now the fairy tale wants its characters back, and it's up to Julie to save them.
Reviews: click here to read reviews
Awards: Andre Norton Nebula Award Finalist, Cybils Fantasy/SF Award Finalist, Missouri Truman Readers Award Nominee, Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award Nominee
 Click for high resolution cover art
Other Information
For information about Sarah's public appearances, please visit the Appearances page.
For rights information, please contact Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger, Inc.
All other questions, please contact Sarah at sarah@sarahbethdurst.com.
|