Julie Murphy has an unexpected story involving a winding road to her writing career. With equal parts dry humor and matter-of-factness, Julie shares that part of her confidence that she could dare to be a writer came after falling deep into the Twilight series. If Stephanie Meyer, an untrained author, could write an international bestseller about shiny vampires, why couldn’t she write a bestseller, too? Okay, possibly not that easy, and of course Julie’s journey to self-assurance and self-love, both for her writing and herself, has been far from just getting caught up in Team Edward vs Team Jacob.
Navigating the tumult of unstable finances, queerness within Christian religious environments, and body image issues, Julie’s coming-of-age years were full of challenges. Yet, through writing, reading, and self-reflection, she has cultivated a deep love and appreciation for her authentic self and her body. Now, she writes stories featuring characters who undertake similar journeys of self-discovery and live in and love their bodies.
Julie Murphy is beloved by kids and adults alike. Her acclaimed novel "Dumplin'" was adapted into a popular Netflix film. Along with the “Dumplin’” series, Julie has written the middle grade “Camp Sylvania” series, the "Faith Herbert Origin Story" series, and was widely celebrated for her 2014 debut novel, "Side Effects May Vary." In all of her stories, Julie features plus-sized characters whose bodies are incidental to the story, but that inclusion is central to Julie’s own story and the die-hard fans of her books (raises hand!).
While Julie’s own love story is rom-com worthy (she’ll share in the episode!), for her reading challenge, Love Hurts, she wants us to read love stories that also… well…. hurt.
This episode’s Beanstack Featured Librarian is Marva Coney, a librarian at Jackson Intermediate in the Pasadena Independent School District. She shares a story about just how important books can be as kids start to grow and experience newer and harder parts of life for the first time.