Julie Murphy

Writer, consultant, zoologist and former zookeeper 

Hi!   Welcome to my web page.  Please take a minute to look around. I hope you find something to interest or inspire you – or perhaps both!

 
About me

I have been interested in writing and animals for as long as I can remember.  When I left school it was crunch time - I had to decide on a career path.  I chose to pursue my interest in animals, and focused on studying zoology at university (although I did enjoy the odd opportunity to write essays).  When I finished my post-graduate studies, I faced the ugly reality that long-term jobs in zoology were few and far between.   I took a side-step into the fascinating world of zookeeping for ten years.  

On the home front, I was always saving up for backpacking trips overseas with my partner, which generally occurred every few years.  We have been extremely fortunate to have visited parts of Africa, Asia, South America, Europe and, of course, Australia.  We always travel independently for as long as we can (usually 3 or 4 months), which allows us to get the best feel for a place that we can.  Now we are getting a bit older, our mode of travel has tended to become a little more comfortable.  In 2007 we spent 14 weeks towing a camper-trailer around outback Australia.  It was a bit different from sharing the back of a truck with 23 South Americans...but it had its similarities!

More than ten years ago, I changed to part-time employment so as to devote more time to the persistent urge to write.  But a happy event intervened and, after a two-year hiatus dedicated exclusively to my growing family, I now manage to write in treasured snatches of time amidst the full-time caring for my amazing, bewildering, fascinating and sometimes infuriating preschool daughter.

My published work began with scientific papers, branched out to non-fiction magazine articles for children and adults, and has finally settled in the wonderful world of children’s literature.  This includes the publication of verse, non-fiction texts, articles and picture story books; all for children.  Along the way there were odds and ends such as an article for a zoo encyclopedia and an instructional manual to teach children how to breed stick insects!

So I have ended up combining my initial two interests - writing and animals - with my newest big love and pre-occupation, my daughter.  In summary, I am a children's writer specialising in animals and nature-related topics, who gets most of my inspiration from observing my daughter!  What are my plans and dreams for the future?  To continue to write for children...and have more of it published! Current works-in-progress include animal-related non-fiction articles for primary school children, several picture story books and a fantasy novel for young adults.

I live in Melbourne, Australia, with my husband and daughter.