Julie Liddell Whitehead lives and writes from Mississippi.
Her debut fiction collection, Hurricane Baby: Stories, is set to publish in August 2024 from Madville Publishing. Billed as the first fictional treatment of Hurricane Katrina to approach its subject–the suffering of those who endured the hurricane and its aftermath–through a trauma-focused lens, the characters in these stories face extreme circumstances with only their inner resources to count on–and in many cases, that proves to not be enough to deal with the mental challenges of living through a weather event of this magnitude. Although many of the characters do not experience the typical physical losses of family members or property, they persist in living lives that have become psychological nightmares.
As a freelancer, she writes on topics concerning mental health, mental health education, and mental health advocacy. Julie was diagnosed with bipolar I disorder in her mid-thirties in 2006. She blogs about her experiences and daily life with bipolar at the site Not Quite Right: Living with Bipolar Disorder.
She has a bachelor’s degree in communication, with a journalism emphasis, and a master’s degree in English, both from Mississippi State University. In August 2021, she completed her MFA in creative nonfiction from Mississippi University for Women. Julie can be found on Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Mastodon, and Instagram.
Julie Liddell Whitehead 