Faces of UNC Asheville

Sarah Addison Allen ’94

Alumna Sarah Addison Allen (Class of 1994) is taking the literary world by storm. After graduation from UNC Asheville, she sold a few stories and penned romance novels for Harlequin under a pseudonym. But her big break came in 2007 with the publication of her first mainstream novel, Garden Spells, a modern fairy tale about an enchanted apple tree and the family of North Carolina women who tend it. Booklist called Allen's accomplished debut "spellbindingly charming" and the novel became a New York Times bestseller, a BookSense pick and a Barnes & Noble Recommends selection. Since then she has released two additional novels to critical acclaim.

“Through my degree in literature, I discovered who I was as a reader. And from that, I learned who I was as a writer. I know I wouldn't be where I am today without my college experience.”