Sarah Armstrong
Sarah's latest novel for young readers is The Wave. Like her multi-award-winning novel Run, it’s a pacy, thrilling survival story for readers aged 9+.
In The Wave, thirteen-year old Max is home alone when a tsunami warning hits his coastal town. He can’t find his dog, Ralph, and must decide between He is thrown together with two other kids and they end up riding out the wave and the aftermath. The novels explore issues such as housing
The Wave and Run are hits among those readers who love a page-turning, gritty, high-stakes story (that’s also not violent nor too gritty).
Run is the story of Cas, a twelve-year old boy who finds himself lost in the tangled Australian bush. Alone and afraid, Cas has given up all hope of rescue when he stumbles upon a strange family hiding out in the wilderness. It turns out they are on the run, but from something so big, they won’t talk about it.
It features moral dilemmas and gripping twists and turns - as well as exploration of meaningful themes for discussion: forgiveness, second chances, resilience and loyalty. PETAA (Primary English Teachers Association of Australia) have written a curriculum unit for Run.
Run won the 2026 CBCA Shadow Judging and Honour Book, as well as the Davitt Award.
Sarah’s presentations on Run and The Wave (suitable for years 4 – 8) are highly interactive and engaging. She talks about the craft of writing suspense and leads the students in brainstorming a plan for a suspenseful scene.
She’s also written (CBCA Notable) Big Magic and its sequel Magic Awry which are magic stories set in a travelling circus. For younger readers (years 3 – 4), her presentations can include circus fun and inventing magic spells.
TALKS
Run and the survival story (45 – 60 mins)
In this interactive and engaging session, Sarah talks about her long-time fascination with survival stories and the inspiration for her thrilling survival story, Run. She quizzes the students on their knowledge of survival skills and talks about the craft of writing a suspenseful scene. Together, Sarah and the students brainstorm a plan for a suspenseful scene – and discuss possible covers and titles for their story. She takes the audience behind the scenes of a writer’s life, using stories and photos. Suitable for years 4 – 8.
Big Magic and writing magic (45 – 60 mins)
Using her magical middle-grade duology, the CBCA Notable ‘Big Magic’ and ‘Magic Awry’, Sarah shares her inspiration for the books and explains how she built the magical world of the series, how she created magical characters and the research involved in her books. She takes the students behind the scenes of a writer’s life and shares practical writing tips. She also shares her journey from ABC journalist to novelist for adults before she found a home writing for kids. And, because ‘Big Magic’ and ‘Magic Awry’ are set in the circus, she invites a few kids to come up and help her set a circus mood before reading from her book. Suitable for years 3 – 7.
Run and Big Magic (45 – 60 mins)
In this talk, Sarah touches on the writing of both Run and the Big Magic duology.
WORKSHOPS
Sarah is an experienced writing teacher and runs fun, very practical writing workshops for kids. She covers coming up with ideas, planning, and creating characters. She can adapt the workshop to your specific needs.
Sarah can adapt her presentations for younger and older groups, or whole-of-school. Please let us know your requirements.
www.sarah-armstrong.com
Testimonials
Sarah was an excellent speaker - organised, interesting and engaging. She was very easy to work with in the lead up to the event. Our audience really loved her interactive brainstorm for a story - it was loads of fun.
Mount Alvernia College - September, 2026Sarah tailored her presentation to suit to the age of the groups in each session. She was very engaging and had held the interest of not only the students but the teachers. Some teachers remarked that they would adopt some of her strategies in their teaching of writing.
St. Felix Primary School - August, 2026Sarah was so engaging and took our year 5 and 6 writers on a journey through her own writing and her wonderful survival books. She encouraged them to create a suspenseful story, sparking imagination and creativity and did a wonderful job of stepping them onto the path of creative writing. We were so thrilled that she joined us to celebrate our Book Week!
St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School - August, 2026Sarah Armstrong's visit was a highlight for our students, staff and families. She spoke openly and engagingly about her path to becoming an author, the creative process behind writing, and the inspiration for her latest book, Run. Sarah connected warmly with both our Year 5 students and the Parent-Daughter Breakfast audience, prompting thoughtful questions, encouraging curiosity, creativity and a love of reading and writing. Her presentations were insightful, inspiring and highly engaging, and we are grateful for the opportunity to learn from such a talented and generous author.
Moreton Bay College - August, 2026Sarah was energetic vibrant and managed to hold the attention of almost 200 Year 8 boys with humour and pace. A wonderful presentation.
Iona College - July, 2026
Salt Rain
The Wave
Magic Awry
Big Magic
Promise
His Other House
New South Wales
Speaker type
- Author
Audience
- Prep - Year 2
- Year 3-6
- Year 7-9
- Year 10-12
- Adult