Sanctuary is not a single-authored text, but rather a collaboration between two authors, Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher. Although most novels are written by a single person, collaborations are not uncommon in contemporary publishing and often produce subject matter, style, and depth beyond what either individual author might write on their own.

Paola Mendoza is a writer, artist, film director, and community organizer. Sanctuary is her first book, although she has published articles in newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Elle, and InStyle. Many of her articles highlight the challenges faced by immigrants and refugees. The films she has directed include Entre Nos (2009), With These Hands, Free Like the Birds (2016), Profiles in Bravery, and Broken Tail Light (2014). Some of these films are documentaries and others are fictional, but thematically, they all explore various challenges faced by immigrants and refugees as well as other topics addressed in Sanctuary, like mother-child relationships. Paola Mendoza is the cofounder and artistic director for the 2017 Women’s March, which consisted of 653 marches across the US and was the largest single-day protest in US history. The Women’s March protested the first full day of Donald Trump’s presidency and included over 5 million participants.