Julie Barlow grew up in Ancaster, Ontario. After graduating from McGill University (Honours B.A. in Politial Science) and Concordia University (M.A. in English Literature), Julie began writing for national magazines in Canada. Since 1994 she has published articles in French and English in newspapers and magazines across Canada, the United States and Europe, including The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor and Le Courrier international.

Award-Winning Bilingual Writer

Julie began learning French when she was 20. In 1996 she became a regular contributor to Quebec’s main public affairs magazine, L’actualité and one of the few journalists in Canada who publish in both English and French. Since 2003 she has been nominated for four National Magazine Awards for her work in L’actualité. She has won 3 Grants for Professional Writers from the Canada Council for the Arts. In 2010, Julie was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship at Arizona State University.

Books on France and the French Language

From 1999 to 2001, Julie lived in Paris with her husband, Jean-Benoit Nadeau. The couple’s first book, Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong (Sourcebooks, 2003), was based on their experience living in France. It became an international success, was translated into French, Dutch and Mandarin, and has sold some 200 000 copies worldwide. In 2006, Barlow and Nadeau published The Story of French (St. Martin’s Press; Knopf Canada; Anova UK). The book won Quebec’s 2007 Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction and was translated into French and Japanese.

Speaking and Teaching

Julie speaks widely on France and the French language at universities and for associations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe and has given keynote speaker for organizations including the American Association of Teachers of French. In 2009 she taught a seminar on Non-Fiction Writing for Quebec’s Writers Federation.

Traveling

An enthusiastic traveler, Julie has visited some 20 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. She has lived in New Zealand, France and the United States. She speaks English, French and Spanish and has studied Arabic and presently lives in Montreal with her husband Jean-Benoît Nadeau and their two daughters.