Julia C. Skinner

Hi! I’m Julia.

I’m an award-winning author, PhD, artist, and educator who helps writers and other creatives flourish at the intersection of their creative passions and interests.

So often, creatives aren’t taken seriously unless they fit into a certain box, leaving many of us feeling left out in the cold. It’s my purpose in life to change that: I want everyone to feel seen and heard as a creative, and I want to help you share your unique, most deeply-felt work with the world in a way only you can!

I’m also a food historian and fermentation enthusiast, a small business owner, an artist, social scientist, a former museum curator, archivist, nature lover, and plenty of other things besides.

I like to sit at the intersection of all my interests and experiences, asking “how can these come together” rather than “which one should I pick?”

I have years of experience helping my fellow creatives find and harness their voices and create their best work.

Through coaching and workshops, I offer multiple ways to explore creative expression and find the expression that’s unique to you.
By combining practical skill building to help you find your stride and meet your goals, with hands-on activities, reflective exercises, and other techniques, I help people find the fun, playful, and productive space in their work and lives to express their true selves.

Together, we’ll make food and crafts by hand, set up a sustainable daily routine, build a mindfulness practice, learn how to set goals, and troubleshoot the areas of your creative life that need the most love (and more!) It’s a coaching and mentorship experience unlike any other.

Beyond coaching, I help folks find and reconnect with their love of traditional foods and handcrafts through my business, Root.

Root’s fermentation and food waste classes and events encourage all of us to bring our full, creative selves to the table and learn alongside each other.

My research-based and creative consulting services, doing everything from consulting on film set design to serving as an expert witness, are deeply rooted in my extensive research background, but made special by my ability to draw connections between ideas and to search for information in places others might not think to look.

I currently split my time between Atlanta, GA and Cork, Ireland.

Award-winning author

My writing is engaging, and asks people to consider a subject within its many contexts. I am primarily a food writer, and food and creating by hand are woven into much of my work.

I am a multi-award-winning author, and my latest book Our Fermented Lives has received international acclaim, winning a silver Nautilus medal, finalist for Georgia Author of the Year, and longlisted for the Andre Simon awards.

I am the only food writer, culinary professional, or historian to win two 40 Under 40 awards in the same year.

My work has been highlighted in many outlets large and small, including the New York Times, Atlanta Magazine, Insider, Eater, Buzzfeed and more.

A multi-faceted creative

I’ve purposefully sought out a lot of experiences, and built up diverse skills, so that I can use all of them to generate big ideas and tackle complex issues creatively and collaboratively.

I graduated from the joint Library Science/Center for the Book Master’s program at University of Iowa, before earning my PhD in Library and Information Science from Florida State University.

During both, I kept turning my eyes to the past to draw insights for the work I do today, something you can still see in my writing and coaching, where I encourage everyone to see themselves as a bridge between the past and future.

During and after school, I worked in various special collections, caring for everything from historical records from Quaker families in Iowa to Civil War diaries to medieval manuscripts and historic cookbooks.

My dedication to community and curiosity shows up across all my work. I love teaching, and I still occasionally teach university classes, focusing on dynamic, collaborative classrooms that prepare students to think deeply and critically, while also thinking contextually.

I’ve taken my love of teaching out into the community, offering classes and events around the world, as well as online.

And, I’m currently in the process of creating a space for some really special residencies that bring my intersectional creative practice to life in real time: Where we’ll make food together, forage, make art, and write, and allow all our creative practices to inform and expand each other.

I can’t wait to share it with you!

Reach out

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