CLiF is thrilled to announce our new Communications Manager, Sarah Hall.

Sarah joined CLiF in January 2022, and manages press and outreach, including newsletters, social media and our blog. A lifelong bookworm, she studied American Literature at Middlebury College, and earned her master’s degree from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. After grad school, she worked for E! Entertainment, chronicling celebrity exploits on and off the red carpet, before leaving Hollywood behind to return to her East Coast roots. She has also worked as a creative consultant, copywriter, social media manager, AirBnB superhost and, most recently, a startup cofounder. Sarah lives in Fayston, Vermont with her husband, two children, and an array of hungry animals.

Our outgoing Communications Manager, Erika, sat down with Sarah to talk about her love for reading and writing.

Q. What are your favorite childhood books?

A. I was such a voracious reader as a kid. Some childhood favorites included Swallows and Amazons, My Side of the Mountain, Julie of the Wolves, Watership Down, and the entire Babysitter’s Club catalogue.

Q. Were you a writer as a kid?

A. I have always loved writing. As a child, I was especially into writing ghost stories with creepy gothic undertones. I was lucky to have some great teachers along the way who supported my writing from an early age.

Q. What do you love most about reading and writing?

A. I love both the creation and the absorption of stories.

Q. Did you read often with your own kids when they were little?

A. I did read to them from the time of their births. Board books, picture books, on up to Harry Potter and beyond. Some favorites included Voyage to the Bunny Planet, Iggy Peck, Architect, Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site and The Night Kitchen. These days, they mostly read to themselves; my daughter, who’s 13, likes dystopian fiction, while my son, who’s 11, prefers graphic novels.

Q. What do you look forward to about working with CLiF?

I’m very excited to be joining a collaborative team with a focus on bringing literacy to young readers. Books were so important to me as a child, and getting them into the hands of children who might otherwise do without is a mission I’m honored to be a part of.