Sarah Ayoub is a journalist, bestselling author and academic with a PhD in migrant Australian YA literature. She is a Stella Schools Program ambassador, has mentored the youth curators of The Sydney Writers' Festival YA program, contributed to the anthology Arab, Australian, Other: Stories on Race and Identity and most recently been a judge for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. Sarah was elected to the board of the Australian Society of Authors in 2021 and is currently working on her first novel for adults as the writer-in-residence of Sweatshop Literacy Movement. She regularly appears at writers festivals and schools, discussing her novels Hate is Such a Strong Word and The Yearbook Committee. We are discussing her debut picture book, The Love that Grew, and new YA novel inspired by her PhD research called The Cult of Romance. Our interview begins at  00:11:30Caitlin recommends: The Yearbook by Holly BourneAn engrossing contemporary YA novel exploring high school and how we remember it.Michelle recommends: The Lamplighters by Emma StonexA slow-burning mystery about mysterious disappearances from an off-shore lighthouse in the 1970s. In this interview, we chat about:How Sarah's experiences visiting Lebanon influenced Natalie's story in The Cult of RomanceWhy do people get married young?Positioning older YA/New Adult books in the marketSarah's choice to move away from writing YA novelsSarah's first picture book, The Love That GrewHow Sarah came to write her first novel, Hate is Such a Strong WordWhy feature writing is still Sarah's first loveSarah's study into multiculturalism in Australian YA and how The Cult of Romance developed as part of her PhDBooks and other things mentioned:The Handover by David M Barnett (Michelle originally recommended here)History Extra: The Mystery of the Vanishing Lighthouse KeepersIt Only Happens in the Movies, Pretending and How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly BourneShameless Podcast asks "How much have you changed in 5 years?" (here's the ep)Loner by Georgina YoungLibby Lawrence is Good at Pretending by Jodi McAlisterDoes My Head Look Big In This? by Dr Randa Abdel-FattahLaurinda by Alice PungFollow Sarah on Instagram @bysarahayoubThe Cult of Romance is available now. Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspodPlease note that we choose podcast guests independently of Caitlin's job at HarperCollins Publishers. Although her job does help put us in touch with authors, we choose our guests based on what we've enjoyed reading and think you'd find interesting.

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