Julie Clark Simon Follow

After earning her undergraduate journalism degree from the University of North Dakota, Montana native Julie Clark Simon worked for newspapers in Minnesota, Montana and Utah, winning several awards for her feature stories and news writing. During her years as an editor for the Logan (Utah) Herald Journal, Simon completed her master's degree by virtue of taking two Utah State University evening courses per quarter.

Following a subsequent stint teaching composition at Southern Utah University, Simon and her husband, Duane, attempted a return to Montana. However, a winter spent washing dishes in the Bozeman food co-op convinced Simon that grading stacks and stacks of freshman essays every evening wasn't the worst way to earn a living. She returned to SUU as the English Department's director of composition.

One long leave and a PhD later, she became director of the Writing Center as she continued to teach writing, grammar, and literary theory courses. After winning the state of Utah's Original Writing Competition for the manuscript of The Ghost Town Preservation Society, Simon decided to fulfill a long-held ambition to write full-time. In between trips to Montana, She continues to live in Utah.