Julie Anne Peters (January 16, 1952 – March 21, 2023) was an American author of
young adult fiction. Peters published 20 works, mostly
novels, geared
toward children and adolescents, many of which feature
LGBT characters.[1] In addition to the United States, Peters's books have been published in numerous countries, including South Korea, China, Croatia, Germany, France, Italy, Indonesia, Turkey and Brazil.[2] Her 2004 book Luna was the first young-adult novel with a
transgender character to be released by a mainstream publisher.[3]
Early life and education
Julie Anne Peters was born in
Jamestown, New York, on January 16, 1952, one of four siblings.[4] When she was five, her family moved to the suburbs of
Denver.[4] Her parents divorced when she was in
high school.
Peters first worked as a teacher, teaching fifth grade and working as a
special needs education assistant in the Jefferson County School District in
Lakewood, Colorado, in 1975. However, she was unsuccessful as an educator, and pursued a different career path.[4] She subsequently worked as a secretary, research assistant, computer programmer and systems analyst for Tracom Corporation in
Denver from 1975 until 1984. Following this, Peters was a computer systems engineer for Electronic Data Systems in Denver from 1985 until 1988.
Peters began her writing career with the publication of her first two books, The Stinky Sneakers Contest, illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith, in 1992, and Risky Friends in 1993.
KC3 Reading Award, Greater Kansas City Association of School Librarians in 1995 for The Stinky Sneakers Contest
Best Book in Language Arts: K-6 Novels, Society of School Librarians International in 1997 for How Do You Spell GEEK?
Top Hand Award for Young-Adult Fiction, Colorado Authors' League in 1998 for Revenge of the Snob Squad
Best Books for Young Adults selection, Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults selection and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers selection, all American Library Association (ALA) awards, in 2000 for Define "Normal"
Best Books for Young Adults selection and Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults selection, ALA, Books for the Teen Age selection, New York Public Library and Lambda Literary Award finalist in 2003 for Keeping You a Secret
Amelia Bloomer Project Recommended Feminist Books for Youth and Stonewall Honor Book, ALA, in 2004 for Keeping You a Secret
Buxtehuder Bulle nomination, National Book Award in Young People's Literature finalist in 2004 for Luna
Best Books for Young Adults selection, ALA, Books for the Teen Age selection, New York Public Library, Stonewall Honor Book and Lambda Literary Award finalist in 2005 for Luna
Rainbow Reads selection, ALA, in 2005 for Far from Xanadu
Best Books for Young Adults selection and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young-Adult Readers selection, ALA, and Books for the Teen Age selection, New York Public Library in 2006 for Far from Xanadu
Lambda Literary Award, James Cook Teen Book Award, Ohio Library Council, Cybils Award finalist and Rainbow Reads selection in 2006 for Between Mom and Jo
Golden Crown Literary Award finalist and Rainbow Reads selection in 2007 for grl2grl
Books for the Teen Age selection, New York Public Library and Cooperative Children's Books Center Choice designation in 2008 for grl2grl[5]
References
^"Julie Anne Peters". Contemporary Authors Online. October 25, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2016.