We're pleased to announce the winner of the 2022 Beacon Award for Excellence in Teaching: Sarah Elizabeth Schantz. The Beacon Award is an award established over twelve years ago by writers who take workshops with our stellar faculty, and the tradition of celebrating annually continues to this day. It should be noted that the nominations, deliberations, and ultimate decisions are made by the community, not by Lighthouse staff, which makes the entire enterprise all the more special. We'll be officially celebrating Sarah at our December 3 Holiday Party, but in the meantime, we've solicited a couple short testimonials from some of her fans, below.
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I have been working with Sarah online since the start of Covid-19. I was very lonely, in a bubble, and desperate to work with and learn from other writers. I've published three novels with major publishers so I wasn't sure if it would be strange or awkward to take a class like this when I already have an MFA etc. In fact, the class and Sarah saved my life. I think I've taken three or four courses with her now. She is the best most generous writing instructor/workshop leader I have ever had the honor and privilege to work with.
I have never been really good at or into writing setting, and she transformed me. I began to recognize the power of setting, the many duties it can do. She opened me up to a lot of new writing friends all across the country. I was at such a low point and now because of her, I'm on page 265 of a fifth novel. Also, because of Sarah, I was able to publicly share that my fourth novel had been rejected by publishers (which has been VERY difficult for me.)
Sarah Schantz reminded me that we're here for the words, the art, the muse, not the accolades. We have to be true to ourselves, our voice (s). Since taking her class, I started teaching writing online. She's been instrumental to my development as a novelist and teacher. She deserves the Beacon Award. She is the best writing instructor I've ever known.
Michele Young-Stone is the author of three novels: Lost in the Beehive, Above Us Only Sky, and The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors. She teaches novel writing for the Muse Writers Center and lives in the Outer Banks of North Carolina
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Sarah has a way of encouraging me to put down my ideas on paper in the very best way I can. She always examines my writing on a deeper level. Her insights are so helpful. Always kind and thoughtful when giving feedback, she demonstrates to other students in the class how to do the same. From the basic showing vs. telling, to micro to macro, to blocking, to the 8-week Intermediate/Advanced workshops, to the 96 hours to a Finished Draft, she is always 100% with all of the students. She is a very gifted teacher. She seems to take a personal interest in each of her students, guiding them with excellent handouts and additional reading after the class is finished.
Sarah has helped me trust myself when I write. I liked how she said to put longer pieces away for a while and focus on shorter pieces. This helped me feel a sense of accomplishment and completion.
Susan Healy was an RN and a Nurse Practitioner for 40 years and has taken 24 writing workshops and classes with Lighthouse over the last 4–5 years. Learning with great instructors at Lighthouse has helped her start a new direction in her life.
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Sarah is always supremely kind, and views us all as writing peers, not only each others' but we are HER peers, and while that is not exactly true, it opens the door for her classes to be a wonderful experience of group discovery, we get so much knowledge from her but we get so much more: we get certainty, the knowledge that not only can we, we ARE doing it. Makes all the difference. Every person's work in her classes is valued; every person's work is sacred, meaningful, and wanted. Her classes are transformative artist healing as much as real-world writing instruction, and I go again and again not only because I need the knowledge, but because I need to be seen, and in Sarah's classes you are SEEN, and you are wanted. What an instructor, she is a writing treasure. I have finished the first draft of my first novel ever, and this is directly attributable to her mentorship and input.
Christopher Grebe is a freelance writer living in Northern Colorado in the US. His work has recently been published in Every Day Fiction and 365Tomorrows. He is an IT executive in his other life where groceries are needed, but luckily he lives in that life with his son and the pitbull who adopted them.
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I am so impressed with Sarah's expertise and dedication to her students. She spends so much time in class and on her own time reading our pages and her feedback is always constructive and encouraging. Her new 'Works in Progress' class gave us a different creative way to workshop pages and helped me generate new chapters for my novel. Sarah provides valuable handouts and in-class information along with thought-provoking discussion topics. She answers all questions and shares her own experience with publishers, agents, and the business aspects of writing as well as the creative process. Sarah is warm, friendly and always available. She stands out as an instructor because of her generous personality as well as her knowledge of craft. Each session with Sarah is a delight!
Sarah has inspired me to finish my novel. Each class I take moves me forward with new ideas and revision techniques. She has been a friend and cheerleader, encouraging me to create, rework, and hopefully finish. I appreciate all of her carefully thought out comments and suggestions. She also created a little writing community with my classmates last fall and we bonded together. We enjoyed time with her and one another so much. (That is so important during these days of zoom isolation.) I have taken many Lighthouse classes through the years and always enjoyed them, but Sarah's workshops stand out as among my favorites as the most valuable for my writing career.
Freelance writer Joey Porcelli, the author of three nonfiction books and numerous magazine articles, won first place in the 2022 Colorado Author’s League Short Story contest. A University of Michigan grad, Porcelli teaches memoir at the Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities.
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Simply said, Sarah Schantz has an ever-expanding cult following. Her classes are so rich with helpful and meaningful tools to writing that students often find themselves on a waitlist for her Zoom classes. Despite not meeting in person, Schantz connects to each individual with practical advice that enhances the knowledge-base of the class as a whole. She is by far my favorite instructor in Lighthouse as I have found that even when the class has ended, her generosity continues with additional material and feedback for each student.
Sarah Schantz demystifies the illusive art of writing by helping us understand what lures in, and keeps the Muse content. Without her lessons, I would still be stuck in the hell-hole of writers block.
Solange Jazayeri
Curious what a class with Sarah Elizabeth Schantz is like? Good news! She's teaching a number of classes coming up this winter session. Check them out here.
