Julie Anne Peters (1952–2023), groundbreaking YA author of Luna
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3 min readJulie Anne Peters was an author of young adult books including “Luna,” one of the first to feature a transgender character.
- Died:afMarch 21, 2023 (Who else died on March 21?)c2
- Details of death:afDied at her home in Wheat Ridge, Colorado after a long illness at the age of 71.
- We invite you to share condolencesaffor Julie Anne Peters in ourafGuest Book.c2
Julie Anne Peterse28099 legacy
Peters didne28099t set out to break down barriers with her writing career. Her early books for young readers included light-hearted stories such as her 1992 debut, e2809cThe Stinky Sneakers Contest,e2809d as well as the e2809cSnob Squade2809d series and e2809cLove Me, Love My Broccoli.e2809d But after she wrote 2000e28099s e2809cDefine e28098Normal,e28099e2809d in which an honor student befriends a punk girl, Peterse28099 editor suggested she continue writing edgier fare for young readers. Peters then drew on her own experience as a lesbian to write 2003e28099s e2809cKeeping You a Secret,e2809d in which a young woman experiences her first same-sex crush.
The following year, Peters published e2809cLuna,e2809d a groundbreaking novel in which the main character struggles to keep her siblinge28099s secret: though assigned male at birth, the sibling identifies as a girl and wants to transition genders. e2809cLunae2809d is the first young adult novel from a mainstream publisher to focus on a transgender character and was widely honored, nominated for a National Book Award and named as an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. Some critics have challenged the booke28099s inclusion in libraries and a Texas representative included e2809cLunae2809d on list of books he believed should be investigated for subject matter concerns.
Peters continued to write young adult books that took on weighty topics, including LGBTQIA+ related issues, domestic abuse in teen relationships, self-harm, and suicide. Her most recent book was the 2014 queer romance, e2809cLies My Girlfriend Told Me.e2809d
Peters on her research for e2809cLunae2809d
e2809cI called theafGender Identity Center of Coloradoafand cried, e2809cHelp!e2809d I asked if they could hook me up with a person whoe28099d be willing to talk to me about growing up transgender. They invited me to a support group meeting... [At the meeting,] I explained that I was working on this novel and asked if anyone was willing to sit down and share their story with me. Were they willing? They were desperate. Desperate for people to know and understand them. Almost every person in that room volunteered to help. Somehow word got out that I was doing this book and my e-mail box began to fill with letters from transgender people all over the U.S. who wanted to participate in the project.e2809d e28094from a 2013 interview for Once Upon a Bookcase
Tributes to Julie Anne Peters
Full obituary: The New York Timesc2
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