Julie Cantrell Email and Phone Number

As a self proprietor, I've maintained a sustainable career by relying on the power of WORDS. It all started with a poem in 2001. Since then, my portfolio has grown to include a vast range of content--from corporate and non-profit contracts, to private editorial clients and book deals. I deliver the words YOU need. On time. Every time. If you need digital or print content, email campaigns, marketing materials, sales sheets, proposals, grants, or social media posts, I've collaborated on projects ranging from non-profit/low-budget fundraiser events to 22-million-dollar construction proposals. If it involves the English language, I rise to meet any challenge.If you're wanting to publish a book and don't know where to start, or you need a developmental and/or line edit before pitching agents, or you're unsure how to write a marketing plan for your publisher, I've helped guide nearly 100 manuscripts from pen-to-page-to-shelf. Reach out and let's discover the story you need to tell.

As a freelance writer, I wrote feature travel, lifestyle, and food articles for Oxford Magazine. I've also written travel, family, food, literature, and lifestyle content for numerous blogs and online outlets, and my photographs are often included as well.

I'm one of 42 female authors who've joined forces through our marketing collective known as the Tall Poppy Writers. We were honored to win the 2019 Wisconsin Innovation Award (www.wisconsininnovationawards.com ) which recognized our collaborative efforts to unite readers and writers through the power of story, and we're proud to have raised more than $100,000 to support non-profit literary efforts including Room to Read. https://tallpoppies.org/the-poppies/While we launch numerous initiatives throughout the year, I'm one of three committee members who organize our social media launches with book influencers. This role includes maintaining a MailChimp list and building our contacts strategically. I also lead a committee to connect librarians, independent booksellers, and book influencers to readers and writers through our reader-centric Facebook group, Bloom with Tall Poppy Writers.

I've been contracted to teach individualized writing packet exchange courses for the low-res MFA program. https://www.online.drexel.edu/online-degrees/arts-and-science-degrees/mfa-creative-writing/index.aspx

I've been contracted by the largest architectural and design firm in the world to help shape opening narratives for specific proposals. https://www.gensler.com/about

I've been contracted to write/edit web and email content for the air ambulance and medical transport company AirCARE1 as they restructure their website and launch a series of email campaigns to celebrate their continued growth and expansion. http://www.airambulanceone.com/

I've been contracted to write/edit website content for the Australian company Circle In as they launch their US expansion for 2020. Assignments require high-level policy research as we aim to boil down complex legalese into more reader-friendly language for US working parents. https://circlein.com/

Under David C Cook and HarperCollins (Zondervan, ThomasNelson, and W imprints), I'm credited for writing two children's books, two historical novels, two contemporary novels, and one collaborative work of creative nonfiction. My books have spent weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, the USA TODAY Top 150, the ECPA bestseller list, a bestseller list in the Netherlands, and numerous regional lists. They've won numerous literary awards including the Mississippi Library Association Fiction Award, two Carol Awards, and two Christy Awards. I've been shortlisted twice for the Alex Award and twice for both the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize and the Mississippi Arts and Letters Fiction Award. With starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, my books have been named Top Picks or BookClub selections by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, Target, Books-a-Million, and numerous media outlets including Lit Hub, REAL SIMPLE, Southern Living, Redbook, and more. For each book, I conduct detailed research, interviews, record-keeping, fact-checking, and editing. Additionally, I work hand-in-hand with marketing teams to create successful launch campaigns. This includes collaborating with both in-house and contracted professionals to collaborate with promotional teams, provide sales support, and manage full public relations outreach including interviews/press kits/public speaking events/websites, media appearances, etc. While I’ve contributed as an author to more than 20 published books (including literary anthologies, devotionals, and more) and edited more than 80 manuscripts, my Key Titles Include: o CRESCENDO (Creative Non-Fiction, July 2019, HarperCollins/W, with Allen Cheney)o PERENNIALS (Nov. 2017, HarperCollins/TNZ)o THE FEATHERED BONE (Jan. 2016, HarperCollins /TNZ)o WHEN MOUNTAINS MOVE (Sept. 2013, David C. Cook; Oct. 2015, HarperCollins/TNZ)o INTO THE FREE (Feb. 2012, David C. Cook; Oct. 2015, HarperCollins/TNZ)

As contributing editor, I conducted interviews and penned feature articles on local interest topics including everything from weddings to literature—issues as diverse as our university community. I also wrote the “In Season” column for a year, which focused on local farm-to-table options. While I wrote less frequently for them in time, I initially wrote monthly features and would meet with the Invitation Oxford publisher, editors, photographers, and advertising team to help determine a monthly editorial calendar and to discuss issues relevant to our growing readership. http://www.invitationoxford.com/

As contributing editor to Huffington Post: GPS for the Soul, I explored spiritual, emotional, and social issues. While GPS has since been discontinued, some of my articles remain online at Huffington Post: LIFE (circulation >80 million unique monthly visitors to the Huff Post site).

For more than a decade I served as writer/editor for WorkingWell, a quarterly newsletter distributed through an Employee Assistance Program to educate and inform readers about the services offered through Princeton HealthCare System & University of Princeton Medical Center. Contracted through Nautilus Publishing Company in Oxford, Ms., we focused on current issues in medical breakthroughs, behavioral and mental health, and wellness strategies. I also wrote feature articles for the PHCS publication, HealthFocus. For each publication, I interviewed medical professionals and partnered with a graphic designer to ensure the marketing team’s needs were met in a timely and professional manner. Aside from medical writing, I wrote/edited other projects through Nautilus including Going to College in New Jersey, College 101, etc. https://www.princetonhcs.org/

Prior to operating a home office for freelance writing and launching a career as an author, I worked as a certified Speech-Language Pathologist in both hospital and private practice settings (1995-2000) across Louisiana and Maryland. When my youngest child entered elementary school, I returned to the field in 2007 by filling in as an SLP for friends on maternity leave from Spring 2007 to 2008 across three nearby school districts. I then accepted a marketing position with FNC before returning to the education field with the Oxford School District in 2010. Within the OSD, I worked in any capacity they needed. This included roles as a Special Education Substitute, a Certified Speech-Language Pathologist, an English as a Second Language Tutor, and a Reading Interventionist. During my last contract with the OSD, I worked as an SLP at Oxford Intermediate School working with fifth and sixth-grade students who had IEPs for speech and/or language intervention. I accepted this contract position to cover Jan—May, 2016 after another SLP resigned mid-year. I managed a therapeutic caseload of more than 40 students, conducted evaluations, maintained IEPs, led meetings, and worked with the Special Education Director and the Principal to ensure teacher, student, family, and district needs were being met.https://www.oxfordsd.org/

In Southern Writers Magazine, I co-wrote a column with international bestselling novelist Lisa Wingate. The column was titled “The Writer’s Jar” and featured candid interviews with high-profile authors including Jamie Ford, Lisa Howorth, Karen White, and many more (bimonthly circulation >50,000). https://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/

In addition to my roles as a novelist, speech-language pathologist, teacher, editor, and freelance writer, I also helped launch and operate Valley House Farm, our family’s small-scale sustainable, organic farm located in Oxford, MS. I spent nearly 10 years caring for Nubian dairy goats and flocks of free-range laying hens, and more than six years raising Katahdin Hair Sheep, Quarter horses, Arabian racehorses, honey bees, and dogs/cats on our farm. We milked our goats by hand, using the raw milk for direct consumption and to make yogurt, ice cream, butter, etc. We harvested honey from our bees and eggs from our hens. We also raised lambs. In addition to caring for our livestock, we grew a wide array of herbs, vegetables, and fruits, including a fresh batch of 70 blueberry bushes. We sold our products to local restaurants and also operated a booth through the local farmers market for two years. As the recipient of a grant from the Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Network (MSAN), we welcomed tour groups to our farm and taught visitors the importance of environmental sustainability. I consider myself a steward of our natural environment and greatly value the impact we have on the world around us. This passion led me to serve an interim position as Environmental Education Director for Camp Lake Stephens during Spring-Summer 2016. With my licensure as a Mississippi educator, certification as a naturalist, experience with the sustainability, and career in writing/marketing/publishing, I was responsible for marketing, social media, internal and external communications, budgetary management, coordinating groups who booked EE adventures at CLS, supervising camp counselors who assisted with the EE program, and managing a sustainable composting and recycling plan to reduce waste throughout the year (especially during peak summer months with more than 1500 campers per week on site.) https://camplakestephens.com/

As editor-in-chief, I served as the liaison between major U.S. publishers and readers, managing a team of more than 20 SLR contributors to provide current reviews and content that supports the work of southern authors. My responsibilities included not only writing and editing online content, but managing and maintaining the SLR website as well as all social media and communications for SLR. https://southernlitreview.com/

As a B2B marketing writer for the financial technology company, FNC, Inc (now CoreLogic), I penned everything from internal corporate communications to external RFPs, blog posts, websites, and sales materials. I also was in charge of organizing many company events, including not only local charity events (such as Habitat for Humanity projects and a United Way campaign) but also our largest annual client conference designed for senior-level CEOs and corporate executives. I was responsible for managing communications as well as details such as booking speakers (Keynote: Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s) and collaborating with various agencies to create a successful $250,000 event. The RFP’s were geared toward acquiring top-tier partnerships with the world’s largest financial institutions (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, etc.). https://www.fncinc.com/

As Contributing Editor to MOMSense magazine (circulation >100,000), I was responsible for writing a monthly activity segment to encourage parents to engage in positive interactions with their preschool-aged children. Additionally, I penned feature articles, interviews, and theme-based content for the magazine.I also served as a copywriter for MOPS, Intl., a role I enjoyed for three years as I wrote at least six parenting articles a month which were released to various websites and magazines through Meredith and WestWayne marketing agencies. As a MOPS writer, I also contributed to the nationally syndicated radio broadcast, MOMSense (>700 outlets), as well as to the MOPS website (www.mops.org), and I published pieces in several MOPS books (Zondervan). I also served as co-editor for the 2008 MOPS theme book (Revell), compiling submitted stories from writers around the world and creating original sidebar material throughout the book. https://www.mops.org/

As a freelance columnist, I contributed two articles a month (700-800 words) for the weekly newspaper publication Oxford Town (circulation 6,000). My column, titled, “Don’t Y’all Just Love Dixie” focused on the ins and outs of southern living and gained a strong regional following. https://www.oxfordeagle.com/category/oxford-town-arts-entertainment/

Contracted through the Meredith Corporation, I wrote family articles directly for the PreSchool Pals portion of the Publix website and the franchise’s Family Style magazine. This quarterly magazine was distributed through the >870 Publix Super Markets across the Southern U.S. Much of my original content continues to be recycled by Publix today, particularly through their family-centered programs.