Arts & Entertainment
Oxford Novelist Julie Cantrell Signs Multi-Novel Contract
The fiction team at HarperCollins Christian Publishing is pleased to announce the signing of New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Julie Cantrell to a multi-novel contract. Cantrell, of Oxford, is represented by WordServe Literary Group.
“It’s not often that an author can find the perfect home for their writing, but through the consistent enthusiasm and personal efforts of Daisy Hutton and the team at Thomas Nelson, Julie’s next two books will be wonderfully shepherded by a skilled and caring publishing partner,” said Greg Johnson, Cantrell’s agent and President at WordServe.
Cantrell’s debut “Into the Free” received two Christy Awards: Debut Novel of the Year and Book of the Year for 2013. Her follow-up, “When Mountains Move“, won the 2014 Carol Award for Historical Fiction. Her awards and critical acclaim are echoed by thousands of positive reader responses from those who have fallen in love with the author’s powerful storytelling.
“Julie’s writing is fearless,” said Daisy Hutton, VP and Publisher, Fiction. “She strips us bare as we walk alongside her characters in their longing and suffering so that we may also experience the shocking beauty of their reconciliation. She is a storyteller of tremendous creative power, and we are hugely honored to be a part of helping bring her stories into the world.”
The author is currently at work on her third book, “The Feathered Bone”, a contemporary novel, set in post-Katrina Louisiana, scheduled to release from Thomas Nelson in December 2015.
“In my writing, I try to explore the difficult challenges women face throughout our lives and to examine the various ways we deal with such suffering,” said Cantrell. “I hope my work can be used to heal, to inspire, and to strengthen, the way writers such as Marilynne Robinson, Anne Lamott, Cheryl Strayed, and Ann Voskamp have done for me. I’m grateful the Fiction team at HarperCollins Christian supports this goal and dares to release the kind of stories that show the raw, rough stages of a soul’s growth because I believe that’s the exact phase of our spiritual development when God draws closest to us.”

Kaye Bryant
December 10, 2014 at 10:57 am
I am so proud that this amazing young lady picked Oxford for her home! Her books are true delight and inspiration!
Maggie Moran
December 16, 2014 at 6:52 am
Congrats, Julie! What great news!!!