Books by Julie Stewart

Winner of the 2020 Dzanc Short Story Collection PrizeIn Water and Blood, the nameless narrator, a survivor of abuse, tries on other women's stories like she is trying on their clothes. There is the nun who learns to swim decades after witnessing her biological sister's drowning in the Ohio River. The rape victim whose deathbed statement is interwoven with the imagined voice of the rapist. The young girl who is sent to stay with her alcoholic grandfather while her parents care for a sick child. Out of scraps of reclaimed history and imagined memories, the narrator creates a garment of women's stories for herself-overlapping the seams between fact and fiction, doing what women do: cleaning and restitching the wounds of trauma, making a life with the things that are left over after everyone else has taken what they need.

Who knows you best? You might think you know yourself better than anyone else. But that might not be true.In her book, Hermit in the Magical Forest, author Julie Stewart tells the story of Hermit, a magical snail who has retreated into his shell, living with fear and feelings of unworthiness. When he finally asks for help and embraces his internal compass, he embarks on a journey. Along the way Hermit uncovers his unique power; a unique power that helps many in a special way.This book has been written to help children and those of all ages find recognition, hope, and their own personal calling in life. May it be a light for those coping with anxiety, depression and a fear of failure.