Sarah Lahay (née Beaudin) - Designer
I help independent authors, publishers, and creative entrepreneurs take their books from manuscript to masterpiece.
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Overview
I'm a book and marketing designer with over 10 years of industry-specific experience. I work with authors and publishers, helping them develop book covers and brand-based marketing goods. I take pride in the fact that people do judge a book by it's cover, it has a direct influence on sales!
When my nose isn't stuck in a book I design corporate reports, posters, advertising campaigns, and other marketing materials that help content creators connect with their target audience. Whether you need help with a print project or a digital design solution, you're in the right place. With a decade of design experience to draw on, my specialty is providing creative solutions that involve the careful balancing of imagination, risk, and practicality.
*Currently booking collaborations for May 2023 and onward*
When my nose isn't stuck in a book I design corporate reports, posters, advertising campaigns, and other marketing materials that help content creators connect with their target audience. Whether you need help with a print project or a digital design solution, you're in the right place. With a decade of design experience to draw on, my specialty is providing creative solutions that involve the careful balancing of imagination, risk, and practicality.
*Currently booking collaborations for May 2023 and onward*
Services
Languages
English
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Health & Wellbeing
History
Parenting & Families
Self-Help & Self-Improvement
Fiction
Literary Fiction
Poetry
Young Adult
Certifications
- Book & Magazine Publishing, Centennial College; Post-Grad
- BFA, York University; Magna Cum Laude
Work experience
Designer
Self-employed
January, 2013
–
Present
(about 10 years)
Portfolio (44 selected works)
The Black Fox of Beckham
David L Heaney
"A tapestry of intrigue, wit, drama and dare that enthralls the reader from start to finish." --Emerald Book ReviewsA black fox, a gypsy widow, and a fourteen-year-old autistic girl discover their improbable friendship (and a little magic) empowers them to take a stand against fox hunting.Set in the village of Beckham, nestled in the English countryside, where fox hunting has been a way of lif... read more
"Our work should be a manifestation of who we are and what we believe."Do you want more from work than just a paycheck or a title? Are you ready to manifest a work life rooted in joy, purpose, and contentment?Career expert Kourtney Whitehead will guide you on a self-discovery journey to bridge the gap between your spiritual life and your work, and help you bring intention and satisfaction to y... read more
Blissfully Blended Bullshit
Rebecca Eckler
Rebecca Eckler’s newest book chronicles the hard truth of what it’s really like to make a blended family. Blissfully Blended Bullshit is a witty, engaging, refreshingly candid chronicle of a modern family’s journey as they blend households. We follow Eckler as her partner and his two children move in with her and her daughter. Then, thanks to a reverse vasectomy, they add a baby to the mix. Re... read more
Let the Willows Weep
Sherry Parnell
“Sometimes life is just like paper wings. Fragile, easily torn apart, and often there are too many pieces to pick up.”In the tradition of the best Southern fiction—from Bastard Out of Carolina to Where the Crawdads Sing—Sherry Parnell’s Let the Willows Weep is a heart-wrenching portrait of hardscrabble, humble lives in rural America. A keenly-observed and unflinching look at the life of Birddo... read more
Escaping the Cocoon
Linette Menaskan
A collection of poems targeting the human experience of everyday life. Divided into three sections, this book seeks to guide souls towards conquering negative thoughts, expressing gratitude, and discovering self-love.
Touch of Fire
Goode, Pam
Single women are more prominent in society than ever before, so why is being unattached and female still treated like a problem that needs to be solved with marriage? Single Girl Problems looks to change the narrative on what it means to be a single woman in the twenty-first century.
Among the Walking Wounded: Soldiers, Survival, and PTSD
John D. Conrad
A gripping account of PTSD, and a stark reminder that, for many, wars go on long after the last shot is fired. In the shadows of army life is a world where friends become monsters, where kindness twists into assault, and where self-loathing and despair become constant companions. Whether you know it by old names like “soldier’s heart,” “shell shock,” or “combat fatigue,” post-traumatic stress ... read more
Detached
Christina Kilbourne
2016 VOYA Top Shelf Fiction Selection Anna has always been so level-headed, so easy-going, so talented and funny. How could anyone have guessed she wanted to die? Anna is not like other people. She’s always felt like she didn’t belong: not with other kids, not with her family, not in her body. It isn’t until her grandparents are killed in a tragic accident, however, that Anna starts to feel un... read more
In Search of Sam (Truths I Learned from Sam)
Kristin Butcher
CCBC's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Fall 2015) ― Commended When Dani sets out to uncover her father’s past, she also discovers her own future. Raised by her mother, eighteen-year-old Dani Lancaster only had six weeks to get to know her father, Sam, before he lost his battle with cancer. It was long enough to love him, but not long enough to get to know him ― especially since Sam didn't even kn... read more
An extraordinary, newly discovered account from an ordinary Canadian on the ground in the crucial battles of the First World War. What was it like to be a field gunner in the Great War? Drawing on the unpublished letters and diary of field gunner Lt. Bert Sargent and his fellow soldiers, Thunder in the Skies takes the reader from enlistment in late 1914, through training camp, to the Somme, Vi... read more
Inheritance
Kirsten Gundlack
Helenas disfigured face has defined her since childhood, even though her older sister Grace always urged her to love herself. Graces sudden death leaves Helena stunned and broken-hearted, but also leaves her with an unexpected inheritance. With only one day to make her decision, Helena becomes increasingly desperate to understand the real motivation behind Graces gift. Inheritance is a meditat... read more
An Imperfect Man
Calabro John
Set in the Toronto neighbourhood of Parkdale, An Imperfect Man narrates two devastating weeks in the life of Jack Hughes as he battles his left arm and his past.
The Green Hotel by Gilmour, Jesse (2014) Paperback
Jesse Gilmour
Pin Pricks
Arima Phlip
Pin Pricks is a collection of deceptively simple poems and aphorisms, each of which expresses an understanding of what it means to be human in this high-tech, global age. The poems leap from urban first world concerns to third world struggles, from the solidly grounded to the surreal, from sombre to witty to frighteningly harsh. They constantly remind us that we are all intimately connected, s... read more
The Tango Lyrics
Maria Negroni
The Tango Lyrics is a translation of Andanza, the tenth book of poetry by Mara Negroni, whose important place in international letters has been well recognized in Argentina and abroad. Like many of her books, The Tango Lyrics drifts through intertextualityby tapping into tango lyrics and Lunfardo slangas it navigates personal terrain. Linguistically rich, with musicality at the forefront, the ... read more
'Membering
Austin Clarke
2016 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature — Longlisted 2016 RBC Taylor Prize — Longlisted The unforgettable memoir of Giller Prize–winning author and poet Austin Clarke, called “Canada’s first multicultural writer.” Austin Clarke is a distinguished and celebrated novelist and short-story writer. His works often centre around the immigrant experience, of which he writes with humour and comp... read more
Unbuilt Hamilton (The City That Might Have Been)
Mark Osbaldeston
With 150 archival plans, photographs, and illustrations, Mark Osbaldeston explores 200 years of significant but unrealized building, planning, and transit schemes in Hamilton. Learn about the escarpment amphitheatre, the Gage Avenue tunnel, the King’s Forest Zoo, and the downtown planetarium, none of which ever came to fruition.
Combat Mission Kandahar: The Canadian Experience in Afghanistan
T. Robert Fowler
Seven soldiers. Seven military specialties. Seven stories. What was it like to serve in the combat mission in Afghanistan? Journalists’ reports from 2006 to 2011 could only give brief glimpses of the reality on the ground for Canadian soldiers. This book reveals the full story of what happened to seven soldiers, ranking from corporal to captain, who were deployed during Operation ATHENA, Phase... read more
Dream Factories: Why Universities Won't Solve the Youth Jobs Crisis
Ken S. Coates, Bill Morrison
The “good jobs” of the past are almost gone. Today, many university graduates face unemployment while others face underemployment. Ken Coates and Bill Morrison explore the death of the “good job,” and the role that universities have played in the disconnect between career fantasies and realities.
Join author Terry Boyle as he invites you to discover Ontario’s hidden, unusual, sites. From small communities and local folklore to UFO sightings, ghost stories, and superstitions, Terry tells unique stories you won’t find in traditional guidebooks.
South Korea: The Enigmatic Peninsula
Mark A. Dake
Mark Dake, a Canadian ESL teacher, set out on a four-month road trip to discover everything that South Korea had to offer. From art galleries and temples to mountaintops and national parks, South Korea: The Enigmatic Peninsula shares the heart and soul of Koreans and their beautiful country.
Escape to Havana: A Foreign Affairs Mystery
Nick Wilkshire
For Charlie Hillier, a posting to Cuba could be the perfect place to start his new life ― if he survives it. With his career stalled and the office abuzz about his soon-to-be-ex-wife’s indiscretions, Ottawa bureaucrat Charlie Hillier is desperate for a change. So when the chance at a posting to the Canadian embassy in Havana comes up, he jumps at it, grateful to get as far away as he can from ... read more
The Moscow Code: A Foreign Affairs Mystery
Nick Wilkshire
In Moscow, the truth can be a dangerous commodity. Ottawa bureaucrat–turned-diplomat Charlie Hillier is back. Having barely survived his first posting in Havana, Charlie is eager to put what he learned there to good use. And it isn’t long before he's thrust into a fresh case ― a technical writer from Toronto in a Moscow jail on dubious drug charges. Charlie has barely put a dent in the brick w... read more
Canadian Women in the Sky: 100 Years of Flight
Elizabeth Gillan Muir
How a few women fought to board planes, then fly them, and finally to break through earth’s atmosphere into space. The story of how women in Canada, from Newfoundland to British Columbia, struggled to win a place in the world of air travel, first as passengers, then as flight attendants and pilots, and, finally, as astronauts. Anecdotes, sometimes humourous and always amazing, trace these wome... read more
Traitors' Gate
Nicholas Pengelley
When a gruesome murder disrupts historic peace talks in London between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Middle Eastern specialist Ayesha Ryder must decipher a cryptic message scrawled in blood above the victims body. A letter written by Lawrence of Arabia hints at the existence of a British plan to grant independence to Palestine in the 1930s, and of a plot between a member of the British Roya... read more
The Hill Times: Best Books of 2017 Unique views from John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Indira Gandhi, and dozens of other world leaders reveal Canada and Canadians through their eyes. During the First World War, foreign leaders began addressing Canadians in our House of Commons and, ever since, have continued influencing how we think about our role in global affairs. For a century now, this par... read more
The story of the end-of-life experience of a palliative care physician who helped thousands of patients to die well. We all die. Most of us spend the majority of our lives ignoring this uncomfortable truth, but Dr. Larry Librach dedicated his life and his career to helping his patients navigate their final journey. Then, in April 2013, Larry was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Unlik... read more
A look at our relationship with food and sex, what happens when we become too dependent on either, and how to start recovering. The need for food and the desire for sex are powerful forces, so powerful they can turn our bodies into battle grounds. Bingeing, exercising to exhaustion, even entering repeatedly into unhealthy relationships — these are all addictive behaviours and symptoms of our b... read more
The sensational story of a girl's tragic death and the whirlwind of racial prejudices that came in its wake. On Boxing Day 2005, fifteen-year-old Jane Creba was fatally shot on one of the busiest streets in Toronto. Police and journalists reported her death as that of an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of rival gangs. In the months that followed Creba’s death, fifty-six men of colou... read more
Further Up and Further In
Chris Marks
The poetry of Further Up and Further In continues to advance the never-ending story of one man's ongoing spiritual journey, his pilgrimage through a variety of the soi dissant and infamous stages of life to, if all goes according to plan (and let's not beat around the bush here), God. Or what, as they say in the Christian tradition within which Mr. Marks works, sometimes playfully, sometimes n... read more
The Android Mirror
Christopher Hall
When your life falls apart who do you turn to? Family? Friends? Your phone? Richard Kidd falls into an emotional abyss when his career and relationships come crashing down in the most humiliating way possible. He reaches out to the only friend he has left, the technology that put him there in the first place. As he begins the search for a new life he meets an eccentric scientist who introduces... read more
A Journey to My Womanhood Through Endometriosis
marta szynkiewicz szynkiewicz
This book is more than a tell-all about my experience with Endometriosis. In these pages I share my journey towards a better understanding of my body; a journey of exploration and a journey to love. This book contains tools which have helped move me from the heaviness of chronic illness towards the lightness of truly being in my feminine, through spiritual work, food and mind set. Tapping into... read more
How much do grit and positive thinking matter when the world around you is starved of support and opportunity? Finally, a book that explains why self-help gurus and motivational speakers mostly fail to deliver, and what really produces results. “Michael Ungar’s Change Your World shows that recovery, functioning and positive change in the face of adversity is not a lonely path trod by individua... read more
Petra's Ghost
C.S. O'Cinneide
A man's pilgrimage becomes something from his darkest nightmares when secrets arise and ghosts haunt his path. A woman has vanished on the Camino de Santiago, the ancient five-hundred-mile pilgrimage that crosses northern Spain. Daniel, an Irish expat, walks the lonely trail carrying his wife, Petra’s, ashes, along with the damning secret of how she really died. When he teams up to walk with s... read more
Everything doesn't (always) happen for a reason. Infertility and pregnancy loss can be devastating, yet both are often private sorrows for the one in six people who cope with the experience. This collection offers personal stories about what it's like to go through the emotional and physical facets of infertility, miscarriage, and pregnancy loss: the pain, sadness, and desperation, the hope, h... read more
Everywhere we look, there are quick remedies to the problems that plague us but these quick fixes end up causing more issues or prolonging the original problem altogether. We’ve searched in all the wrong areas for the answers to our most pressing issues causing us to be frustrated, confused, and frankly, frightened about what the future holds. In Deepening Growth, transformative coach and foun... read more
Testament
Brad Wiebe
Dana Seibel is expected to graduate with honors and a scholarship to the college of her choice. When she fails her senior science project — a report on the evolution of humanity, her science teacher offers her another chance to get back on track. However, Dana’s father, a third-generation pastor, believes a re-write to be an affront to God.But her problems have only barely begun.When Dana arri... read more
More Beautiful Than the Stars: A Rock Canyon Series Standalone
Rian, Riley, Rian, Riley
Sarah has 97 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
Sarah is highly professional. Knowledgeable, well organized and reliable. She provided comprehensive info at the beginning of our collaboration, and communicated very clearly with me throughout the process, so there were no surprises. She was patient and responded to my questions/concerns, by providing me with relevant info and options.
She was also helpful with things that were not stric...
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Nego Huzcotoq, January 2023
Sarah is a joy to work with. She is timely, professional and has reasonable expectations. Her experience in the industry brings a lot of help and guidance to first time publishers. I will look to work with Sarah again in the future.
Abigail Morrissey Riordan, January 2023
This was my second project with Sarah and it was just as easeful and enjoyable as the first. I really appreciate her clear communication — I always knew exactly where we were in the process and what each of us needed to do next to move things forward. The finished book is something I am so excited to hold in my hands!
Nicole Antoinette, January 2023
I engaged Sarah Lahay to design the interior of my memoir, and do the typesetting. She began the collaboration with a video call and this immediately established rapport, which was invaluable as the project proceeded. I appreciated Sarah's approach to interior design as she took great care to understand my work and what I was seeking to achieve. Her options were all excellent. Throughout our co...
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Ruth Cotton, January 2023
Sarah has totally exceeded my expectations. She is the best cover and interior book designer I could ever have imagined! She is the consummate professional with a great personality and limitless talent.
During my collaboration with Sarah, we transformed my words into a visual work of art. I will absolutely work with her again on my next book! I highly recommend her for new and experience...
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Walter McLeod, December 2022
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