Julie Tibbott
Julie Tibbott is a former Senior Editor at Houghton Mifflin Books who has worked in publishing for nearly fifteen years. Books she has edited include edge-of-your seat thrillers such as The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle and The May Queen Murders by Sarah Jude; the beautiful, lyrical, dark undersea fantasy Lost Voices by Sarah Porter; several morbid yet hilarious titles by Gina Damico including Croak and Hellhole; the popular Dead Is mystery series by Marlene Perez; atmospheric historical romances such as The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell and The Clearing by Heather Davis; fictionalized accounts of the young lives of famous figures such as The Bad Queen: Rules and Instructions for Marie-Antoinette by New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Meyer; and multiple volumes of Diane Duane’s long-running Young Wizards series, which began with So You Want to be a Wizard.
Many of Julie's books may be found below, but you can find a longer list here.
Here are a few of her recent testimonials:
Julie is the consummate professional. She came in toward the end of this project (a linked story collection titled TREES RUNNING LIKE GREEN HORSES) and has helped me get a grip on my query letter. Prior to her appearance, I was all over the planet with overdone language, quiveringly underdone verbiage, and just plain baloney. She got the compass leveled out. More than that, she nailed the real message, the central theme of my collection, helped me get it into the best, brightest language. She's terrific, the cat's pajamas. Can't wait to work with her again.
Terry Caszatt, Jan 12, 2020
Insightful, thorough, experienced. Working with Julie will help you improve both your piece and your skills. Highly recommended.
Thank you for all your help, Julie.
Nick Velasquez, Jan 6, 2020
Working on my first novella, I wasn't sure what to expect when I contacted Julie for an editorial assessment. Nevertheless, she went above and beyond my expectations. Not only did she provide an insightful memo that detailed important issues I overlooked, she was much too kind on adding changes to grammar, spelling, and formatting for more than half of my manuscript! Julie is professional, punctual, and delivers work that is worth every penny, and then some. When my novel's ready for the editing grind, I can be sure I'll contact her again!
Diego Ornelas-Tapia, Feb 22, 2020
"This edgy, madcap romp will have wide appeal. By turns chaotic, lampoon-ish, hilarious, melodramatic, thoughtful, and suspenseful..." - VOYA
"A sure pick for fans of sci-fi spoofs, black humor, and unusual formats." - Booklist
Cram ten hormonal teens into a spaceship and blast off: that’s the premise for the ill-conceived reality show Waste of Space. The kids who are cast know everything about drama - and nothing about the fact that the production is fake. Hidden in a desert warehouse, their spaceship replica is equipped with state-of-the-art special effects dreamed up by the scientists partnering with the shady cable network airing the show.
And it’s a hit! Millions of viewers are transfixed. But then, suddenly, all communication is severed. Trapped and paranoid, the kids must figure out what to do when this reality show loses its grip on reality.
"Animal-lovers and sci-fi addicts will be hooked." - Booklist
"An inventive, charming tale with a strange mix of science and fantasy." - Kirkus Reviews
Twelve-year-old Ada is a Chimera, born with human and animal DNA thanks to a genetic experiment gone wrong. Because being a “kime” is believed to be contagious, she has kept her condition - complete with infrared vision - hidden. But a surprise test outs her, and Ada is shipped off to a quarantined school for kimes.
There Ada meets kids of many different shapes, stripes, and appendages, such as a girl with dragonfly wings and a seal-boy. As she adjusts to her new life, Ada senses that the facility is keeping a secret that could upend everything the world knows about Chimeras. But will someone put a stop to her efforts to uncover the truth?
Mercer Buddie wants two things in this world: a girlfriend and the chance to prove to his master falconer father that he’s not a flake. With hunting season fast approaching, fourteen-year-old Mercer has only a short time to work with Flip, a red-tailed hawk he irreverently named to show his dad that falconers don’t have to be so serious all the time.
When Mercer meets Lucy, he falls hard for her gorgeous looks and bubbly personality. He thinks his love life is about to take flight, until he discovers that Lucy and her family belong to a fanatical animal-rights organization called HALT - a group that believes imposing any sort of restrictions on animals is a form of cruelty. Mercer soon realizes that if he wants to keep seeing Lucy, he’ll need to keep his love of falconry and his family’s raptor rehabilitation center a secret from her, and Lucy’s involvement with HALT from his family.
Esther is one of the Special Ones: four young spiritual guides who live in a remote farmhouse under the protection of a mysterious cult leader. He watches them around the clock, ready to punish them if they forget who
they are - and all the while, broadcasting their lives to eager followers
on the outside. Esther knows that if she stops being Special, he will “renew” her. Nobody knows what happens to the Special Ones who are taken away from the farm for renewal, but Esther fears the worst. Like an actor caught up in an endless play, she must keep up the performance if she wants to survive long enough to escape.
What is it like to be the daughter of the most beautiful woman in the world?
Hermione knows...her mother is Helen of Troy, the famed beauty of Greek myth. Helen is not only beautiful but also impulsive, and when she falls in love with charming Prince Paris, she runs off with him to Troy, abandoning her distraught daughter. Determined to reclaim their enchanting queen, the Greek army sails for Troy. Hermione stows away in one of the thousand ships in the fleet and witnesses the start of the legendary Trojan War.
In the rough Greek encampment outside the walls of Troy, Hermione’s life is far from that of a pampered princess. Meanwhile, her mother basks in luxury in the royal palace inside the city. Hermione desperately wishes for the gods and goddesses to intervene and end the brutal war - and to bring her love. Will she end up with the handsome archer Orestes, or the formidable Pyrrhus, leader of a tribe of fierce warriors? And will she ever forgive her mother for bringing such chaos to her life and the lives of so many others?
“Jude’s characters exude authenticity, and the suspense stays palpable through the final pages.” - Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Poetic, multisensory narration immerses the reader in mystery and horror. Multiple red herrings keep the pages turning." - VOYA
Stay on the roads. Don’t enter the woods. Never go out at night.
Those are the rules in Rowan’s Glen, a remote farming community in the Missouri Ozarks where Ivy Templeton’s family has lived for centuries. It’s an old-fashioned way of life, full of superstition and traditions, and sixteen-year-old Ivy loves it. The other kids at school may think the Glen kids are weird, but Ivy doesn’t care - she has her cousin Heather as her best friend. The two girls share everything with each other - or so Ivy thinks. When Heather goes missing after a May Day celebration, Ivy discovers that both her best friend and her beloved hometown are as full of secrets as the woods that surround them.
"Duane neatly manages to pull together and tie off plot threads that have been dangling since the earliest volumes. A delightful treat for dedicated fans." - Kirkus Reviews
“Recommend this series to young teens who devour books about magic and wizards...or kids looking for 'Harry Potter' read-alikes.” - SLJ
Every eleven years, Earth's senior wizards hold the Invitational: an intensive three-week event where the planet's newest, sharpest young wizards show off their best and hottest spells. Wizardly partners Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan are drafted to mentor the dangerous Penn Shao-Fend and Nita's sister Dairine Callahan to mentor the shy Mehrnaz Farrahi. Together they're plunged into a whirlwind of cutthroat competition and ruthless judging. Penn's egotistical attitude toward his mentors complicates matters as the pair tries to negotiate their burgeoning romance. Meanwhile, Dairine struggles to stabilize her hero-worshipping, insecure protégée against the interference of powerful relatives using her to further their own tangled agendas. When both candidates make it through to the finals stage on the dark side of the Moon, they and their mentors are flung into a final conflict that could change the solar system for the better...or damage Earth beyond even wizardly repair.
"Damico's blend of bleak humor and harsh reality lends itself well to Max's social awkwardness and Lore's biting cynicism, while Burg is outrageously appalling." - Publishers Weekly
A devil is a bad influence...
There was a time when geeky, squeaky-clean Max Kilgore would never lie or steal or even think about murder.
Then he accidentally unearths a devil, and Max’s choices are no longer his own. The big red guy has a penchant for couch surfing and junk food - and you should never underestimate evil on a sugar high. With the help of Lore, a former goth girl who knows a thing or two about the dark side, Max races against the clock to get rid of the houseguest from hell before time, and all the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos this side of the fiery abyss, run out.
"Creepy, romantic and oozing with atmosphere, Mitchell deftly brings readers along on a nail-biting adventure." - Carrie Jones, author of Need
When Willa Dixon's brother dies on the family lobster boat, her father forbids Willa from stepping foot on deck again. With her family suffering, she’ll do anything to help out - even visit the Grey Man. Everyone in her small Maine town knows of this legendary spirit who haunts the lighthouse, controlling the fog and the fate of any vessel within his reach. But what Willa finds in the lighthouse isn’t a spirit at all, but a young man trapped inside until he collects one thousand souls. Desperate to escape his cursed
existence, Grey tries to seduce Willa to take his place. With her life on land in shambles, will she sacrifice herself?
"Infatuate will not leave you disappointed! There's plenty of love drama packed into this page-turner." - Seventeen.com
Haven Terra is still recovering from an internship that brought her literally to the brink of hell when a trip to New Orleans leads to more trouble. There, while taking part in a student volunteer program, Haven and her friends Dante and Lance run across an enclave of devils known as the Krewe.
These shape-shifting devils are more reckless and vicious than any Haven, Lance, and Dante have encountered. Yet the friends soon discover that their French Quarter housemates are also angels in training, and together they must face off with the Krewe in their quest for wings.
But Haven’s resolve is tested when Lucian, the repentant devil with whom she was infatuated, resurfaces and asks her for help escaping the underworld. Can he be trusted? Or will aiding him cost Haven her angel wings -and her life?
"A fun ride from start to finish. Perez's smart and sassy style soars." - Mary E. Pearson, author of the Jenna Fox Chronicles
"[A] quick, lively romp...Teens looking for a breezy read will find plenty to like here." - Booklist
The people of Nightshade, California, are dying in their sleep, and fifteen-year-old paranormal warrior Jessica Walsh is determined to find the killer...or killers. Justice isn’t the only thing on Jessica’s mind, however. Some days she’s not sure which is worse - having a creepy clown lurking outside her window or having her rock star boyfriend’s hot ex-girlfriend drop by for a surprise visit. Could the ex be behind the dastardly doings in
town? Or could the disturbing works of a strange painter somehow at the
heart of the mystery? Jessica is losing sleep - but she’s got to figure out what's going on before the night terrors strike again.
"At once horrifying, hopeful, and hauntingly beautiful, this gorgeous read with its rich textures and spine-tingling suspense kept me glued to the pages in utter fascination. Laura Bickle is a master storyteller. Brava! Just superbly done!" - Darynda Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Third Grave Dead Ahead and The Darklight Series
After a plague of vampires was unleashed in the world, Katie was kicked out of the safe haven of her Amish community for her refusal to adhere to the new rules of survival. She enters an outside world of unspeakable violence with only her two friends and a horse by her side.
And yet through this darkness come the shining ones: luminescent men and women with the power to deflect vampires and survive the night. But can they be trusted, and are they even people at all?
In this sequel to The Hallowed Ones, it's up to one Amish girl to save her family, her community, and the boy she loves...but what will she be asked to sacrifice in return?
"The Twice Lost offers a moving, action-packed and deeply satisfying ending to Sarah Porter's brilliant Lost Voices trilogy. What a beautiful, intense world of ferocious lost girls who find themselves at last. I loved it." - Carolyn Turgeon, author of Mermaid and The Fairest of Them All
"Nail-biting suspense, magically-written characters and plot twists that
no one sees coming...you'll devour every minute of it." - Teenreads.com
Mermaids have been sinking ships and drowning humans for centuries, and now the government wants to exterminate them. Luce, a mermaid with exceptionally threatening abilities, becomes their number-one target. She takes refuge in San Francisco, where she finds hundreds of mermaids living in exile under the docks of the bay. These are the Twice Lost: once-human girls lost first when a trauma turned them into mermaids, and lost a second time when they broke mermaid law and were rejected by their tribes. Luce is stunned when they elect her as their leader. But she won't be their queen. She'll be their general. And they will become the Twice Lost
Army - because this is war.
"High drama...irresistible." - Booklist
"Riveting." - Publishers Weekly
Mary Stuart was just five years old when she was sent to France to be raised alongside her future husband. But when the frail young king dies, eighteen-year-old Mary is stripped of her title as Queen of France and set adrift in the harsh world, alone. Determined to reign over what is rightfully hers, Mary returns to Scotland. Hoping that a husband will help her secure the coveted English throne, she marries again, but the love and security she longs for elude her. Instead, the fiery young queen finds herself embroiled in a murder scandal that could cost her the crown. And her attempts to bargain with her formidable “sister queen,” Elizabeth I of England, could cost her her very life.
"Teens will love this title because it is full of page-turning events and is difficult to put down." - VOYA, 5Q, 5P (the highest rating)
"The high stakes, complex character development, and realistic dialogue and interactions will keep readers riveted - and likely have them imagining
themselves in Luke’s position." - Publishers Weekly
Luke was not eager to accompany his best friend, Hayden, and the cocky new kid, Russell, up to the cliff that night. The plan was to watch Russell jump off the cliff into the lake - his initiation to the Briar Academy fencing team. But instead, after an angry confrontation with Hayden, Russell falls to his death.
Now Hayden is in jail and the pressure is on Luke to report what he saw. But what did he see? An accident - or a murder? Luke has always followed Hayden's lead, but this is one decision he'll be forced to make on his own. And to do it, he must face the truth about his friendship with Hayden and his own painful past.