Hannah V. Sawyerr is a Sierra Leonean-American writer with a passion for people and storytelling. For Hannah’s literary and community involvement, she was recognized as the 2016 Youth Poet Laureate of Baltimore. Her spoken word poetry has been featured on the British Broadcasting Channel’s (BBC) “World Have Your Say” program, as well as the National Education Association’s “Do You Hear Us?” campaign. Her written word, including poetry and personal essays, have been featured in several publications such as Essence, gal-dem, and xoNecole. She holds a BA in English from Morgan State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School.
Sawyerr’s debut novel ALL THE FIGHTING PARTS was selected as an American Booksellers Association’s (ABA) Kids’ Indies Introduce Pick, a September/October Kids’ Indie Next Pick, a William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist, a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor Book, an American Library Association’s (ALA) Rise: A Feminist Book Project Top Ten Title, and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. ALL THE FIGHTING PARTS received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal and has appeared on numerous state award lists. Sawyerr lives in Los Angeles, California.
“Hannah V. Sawyerr was a fabulous virtual speaker for my library’s high school students. We only had a half an hour for her presentation and she shared her story brilliantly! She hand selected poems from her novel that helped crystalize her points and she was able to talk about each and the meaning behind each. She was enthusiastic and honest, and really connected with students as she reminded them that when adults are abusive or negligent, it is NOT THEIR FAULT, a message students need to hear. Overall Hannah V. Sawyerr was funny and moving and students rushed to check out her books after her talk!” ― Sarah Ressler, Librarian & DCS Mentor Coordinator
