Juli Frances Taylor loves words, Greek mythology, and the correct use of the Oxford comma.
Born in Jericho, Oxford in 1966 to a family of University staff, she grew up playing hideand-seek and searching for fairies in the City’s medieval colleges.
A 30 year career in aviation has given her great experience of different cultures, beliefs, and views.
And massive jet-lag.
A life-long lover of stories, she wrote her first poem ‘Snowy Has Gone’ (about a runaway rabbit) at age six.
Her poetry has got better since then.
After studying with the Open University she started writing for children, and her first story in rhyme ‘Georgia Gallant’s Talent’ - about kindness and friendship - was completed in 2018.
Further poems followed, which approach divorce, LGBTQIA+, bullying, and different abilities in a child-friendly way. She writes silly stuff too and it is all aimed at 6-12 year olds and their grown ups.
MEDIA
Her work has been featured on both independent and BBC local radio.
‘My Worry Beast’ - a poem commissioned for Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week 2021 - opened BBC Oxford’s observance of the campaign, and her inclusion poem ‘The Super Drag Queen Babysitter’ was part of a series celebrating Pride month at the station. Interviews and co-hosting spots on BBC Gloucestershire, BBC Wiltshire, and BBC Bristol has given her poetry a wider audience.
Written publications include local newspapers and magazines, and a contribution of two poems to the 2021 book ‘Collecting Rainbows; Moments Of Joy And Inspiration’.
She was selected for the BBC Upload Festival in 2022; the only children’s writer asked to contribute.
COMMUNITY
PrimaryColourPoetry is an imagination collaboration with schools. The aim is to write a collective poem using the children’s words.
Active Poetry is a rhyming session for 5-10 year olds featuring games, wordplay, and poems.
Her anti-bullying works have been used in primary school classrooms in England and Scotland, and she visits libraries and children’s groups for poetry reading and biscuits.
She now lives in the Cotswolds, but still plays hide-and-seek and continues her search for fairies
