Julia grew up in Canada’s north, which meant lakes, forests, and 6 months of snow. Now she lives on an island off the south coast, which means 9 months of rain. By the time she was ten, she had a beloved notebook filled with plot ideas for novels and T.V. shows. She cried when she had to get rid of her Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High books because they wouldn’t fit in the family’s moving truck, and promptly bought them all back from used book stores in their new city.

She studied history and child and youth care in university, and both writing and reading took a backseat. It wasn’t until she was in her late twenties that her obsession with middle grade fiction was reignited. Now she carries another plot-filled notebook with her, although it’s also filled with shopping lists and reminders to feed the cat.

Julia Nobel is the author of the middle grade series, The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane. She has a B.A. in Child and Youth Care and has been facilitating workshops and classes with children, teens, and adults since 2002. As a teacher, she champions the principles of play, wonder, discovery, and imagination, and she uses those same principles in her workshops: playing with character, wondering about plot, discovering secrets, and imagining possibilities. All workshops require teacher participation and are designed to meet B.C.’s new Curriculum Competencies and U.S. Core Competencies.