Award-winning author, Sarah Hall, will be joining the University of Cumbria as a Professor of Preactice A prestigious Cumbrian author has joined the University of Cumbria team. Award winning author, Sarah Hall has been appointment as a University of Cumbria Professor of Practice, which will see her working alongside English literature students studying her widely acclaimed novels. Based within the Centre for National Parks and Protected Areas (CNPPA), Sarah said it was a position that would allow her to contribute beyond fiction in a focused way. It formalises my relationship with the place central to my writing, said Sarah. My upbringing in the Lake District was a gift, an essential component of what I do and my creative capabilities.