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 hide-and-seek and searching for fairies in the City’s medieval colleges.
A 35 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 improved 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 regularly appears on BBC local radio in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol and she was the only children’s writer to be selected for the BBC Upload Festival with her inclusion poem ‘The Super Drag Queen Babysitter.
Her poems are featured on The Dirigible Balloon children’s poetry website and she has been published in magazines and newspapers.
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