Sarah Maria Griffin

Griffin was first rejected by a publisher at age 11. She turned to poetry; her first collection came out in 2011, when she was taking a Masters in Creative Writing.

Meanwhile, she taught for a year in Clondalkin. Then, finding work elusive, she joined her boyfriend in San Francisco. The book grew out of articles she wrote there.

“The Irish Times published some. One ended up as a cover story. I started writing longer pieces and essays, and the book grew organically from that.”