Julie Anne Peters facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Julie Anne Peters
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| Born | January 16, 1952 Jamestown, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 21, 2023 (aged 71) Wheat Ridge, Colorado, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
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| Genre | Young adult |
| Notable works | Keeping You a Secret (2003) Luna (2004) By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead (2010) |
| Spouse |
Sheri Leggett
(m. 2014) |
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Julie Anne Peters (born January 16, 1952 – died March 21, 2023) was an American author. She wrote many books for young adults. Her stories often included characters who were part of the LGBT community.
Peters published 20 books, mostly novels. These books were for children and teenagers. Her books were popular in many countries, not just the United States. Countries like South Korea, China, and Germany published her work. Her 2004 book, Luna, was very important. It was one of the first young adult novels with a transgender character to be released by a big publisher.
Contents
Growing Up and School
Julie Anne Peters was born in Jamestown, New York. This was on January 16, 1952. She was one of four children in her family. When she was five years old, her family moved. They went to live in the suburbs near Denver. Her parents later divorced when she was in high school.
Peters went to college and earned several degrees. In 1974, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. This was in elementary education from Colorado Women's College. She also studied French. Later, in 1985, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree. This was in computer and management science. She got this from the Metropolitan State University of Denver. In 1989, Peters earned an MBA degree. This was from the University of Colorado Denver.
Her Career Journey
Julie Anne Peters first worked as a teacher. She taught fifth grade in Lakewood, Colorado, in 1975. She also helped students with special needs. However, teaching was not the right path for her.
She then explored different jobs. She worked as a secretary and a research assistant. She also became a computer programmer and a systems analyst. These jobs were for Tracom Corporation in Denver. She worked there from 1975 to 1984. After that, she was a computer systems engineer. This was for Electronic Data Systems from 1985 to 1988.
Peters started her writing career in the early 1990s. Her first book was The Stinky Sneakers Contest. It was published in 1992. The next year, in 1993, she released Risky Friends.
Life and Passing
Julie Anne Peters married her longtime partner, Sherri Leggett, in 2014. They lived together in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
Peters passed away at her home on March 21, 2023. She was 71 years old.
Books by Julie Anne Peters
- The Stinky Sneakers Contest (1992)
- Risky Friends (1993)
- B.J.'s Billion Dollar Bet (1995)
- How Do You Spell G-E-E-K? (1996)
- Revenge of the Snob Squad (1998)
- Romance of the Snob Squad (1999)
- Love Me, Love My Broccoli (1999)
- Define "Normal" (2000)
- A Snitch in the Snob Squad (2001)
- Keeping You a Secret (2003)
- Luna (2004)
- Far from Xanadu (2005) – later republished as Pretend You Love Me
- Between Mom and Jo (2006)
- grl2grl (2007)
- Rage: A Love Story (2009)
- By The Time You Read This I'll Be Dead (2010)
- She Loves You, She Loves You Not... (2011)
- grl2grl 2 (2012)
- It's Our Prom (So Deal With it) (2012)
- Lies My Girlfriend Told Me (2014)
Awards and Recognition
Julie Anne Peters received many awards for her books. Here are some of them:
- In 1995, The Stinky Sneakers Contest won the KC3 Reading Award.
- How Do You Spell GEEK? was named Best Book in Language Arts in 1997.
- Her book Revenge of the Snob Squad won the Top Hand Award in 1998.
- Define "Normal" was chosen as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association (ALA) in 2000.
- Keeping You a Secret received several honors in 2003 and 2004. These included ALA's Best Books for Young Adults and the Stonewall Honor Book.
- Her novel Luna was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2004. It also won the Stonewall Honor Book award in 2005.
- Far from Xanadu was recognized by ALA in 2005 and 2006.
- Between Mom and Jo won the Lambda Literary Award in 2006.
- grl2grl was a finalist for the Golden Crown Literary Award in 2007.
