She has an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a BA in English from the University of Georgia. She is a 2014 Nightboat Books Poetry Prize finalist, a recipient of the Friedman Fellowship from the University of Iowa and a 2014 Yaddo Residency Fellow. Julia has taught creative writing at the University of Iowa, the Iowa Young Writers' Studio, Iowa Summer Writing Festival, and to students through the Iowa Youth Writing Project. Currently she lives in Iowa City where she teaches Screenwriting at the University of Iowa and co-edits Two Peach with Catherine Pond.