Zettel's first short story Driven by Moonlight was written in 1986, and was published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact in 1991.
[7][8] Writing as C. L. Anderson, her novel Bitter Angels won the 2010 Philip K. Dick award for best science-fiction paperback.
Kirkus Reviews and the American Library Association said her novel Dust Girl is one of that year's "best young adult books".
[10][11] John R. Alden of The Philadelphia Inquirer reviewed Fool's War, stating; "Sarah Zettel's thought-provoking tale offers an energetic plot and a cast full of appealing characters".
[12] A Publishers Weekly review of Playing God says; "Readers will embrace this complex, multidimensional saga (Zettel's hardcover debut, and the best of her three novels) not only for its depiction of exotic alien civilization and its action-packed plot but also for its pertinent themes of tribalism, intolerance and ecological disaster".
[14] Dust Girl, in which the main character is of mixed race and is half-fairy, was included in a Bustle's list titled "12 Awesome YA Novels Featuring POC Protagonists".
[15] Major awards and nominations in the science fiction and fantasy field:[7] Sarah Zettel was born in Sacramento, California, on December 14, 1966.