Julia Taylor Ebel

Celebrating nature, heritage and cultural history through stories and poetry

I did not grow up wanting to be a writer.  In fact, I thought writing was hard work.  I still think that, but I write anyway because the world is full of wonder to be noticed, people to be remembered, and stories to be heard.

My writing has been filled with serendipity. Family stories and nature provided my first inspirations, but each path I have taken has led me to others. After honing my writing skills for over 20 years, my six books have come together in recent years.  Each of these books is about keeping our stories—not just mine, but yours too. All invite sharing between generations.

All six books have been honored with awards that have sometimes surprised me. Read about their awards and some state, national and international reviews here.

Walking Ribbon: A picture book, set in Liberty, NC, where my grandmother grew up and once walked a calf that ran. Ages 4 to10. (NC social studies, keeping our own stories)

Addie Clawson: Appalachian Mail Carrier:  A picture book biography of the first female mail rural carrier in Watauga County, NC—a role model of determination and kindness. All ages.  (Character study, role of women, NC social studies, mountain region, postal history)

Orville Hicks:  Mountain Stories, Mountain Roots: Biography of North Carolina Heritage Award winner Orville Hicks, who tells Jack Tales and other stories passed down through generations of his family near Beech Mountain, NC.  Ages 8 to adult.  (NC social studies, mountain life, folklore, character)

Jack Tales and Mountain Yarns, as told by Orville Hicks:  Transcription of over 20 of Orville’s stories, plus endnotes--and some surprises.  Engaging line drawings by Sherry Jenkins Jensen.  Ages 8 to 108.  (NC literature, folklore, NC social studies)

Dresses, Dreams and Beadwood Leaves:  a growing-up story of an Appalachia farm girl, told in a series of free verse poems, with my own sketches. Ages 8 to 98.  (Poetry, social studies, native plants and herb gathering, math, character)

The Picture Man:  A glimpse of the moment when a picture man photographed a mountain farm girl.  Endnotes include vintage photos by a picture man and discuss the contributions of picture men--and gives instruction on making a box camera. Watercolors by Idalia Canter hint of old tinted photographs.   For children, parents, and great-grandparents, especially if they share their photographs. (Social studies, science, photography and photographic history) 

Writing poems is one of my loves. I enjoy playing with sounds and rhythms in free verse as I capture nature’s images in words. I often write poems as I walk my dog or explore the woods. Over 50 of my nature poems are published in children’s magazines, including Cricket and Pockets.

I conduct poetry and writing workshops in schools and libraries, and I present programs on keeping stories. Aside from writing, I tutor and teach children’s literature and language classes at Guilford Technical Community College. My home is in Jamestown, North Carolina, with my husband, son, and golden retriever; but a part of my heart is in the North Carolina mountains, where I find inspiration for much of my writing.

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