Julia Phillips (born February 4, 1988) is an American author. Her book ''

Disappearing Earth ''Disappearing Earth'' is the 2019 debut novel by Julia Phillips. Plot In an isolated town in Far Eastern part of Russia two young girls go missing. Critical reception The literary review aggregator Book Marks reported that 75% of critics gave ...

'' was a finalist for the 2019

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...

Early life and education

Phillips attended Montclair High School and earned her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in English from

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

. She spent a semester of college abroad in Moscow and volunteered at the Crime Victims Treatment Center.

Career

After graduating from college, Phillips earned a

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

grant allowing her to conduct research in Russia regarding how foreign investment and tourism have affected the

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and we ...

. She also wrote blog posts for

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...

. During her time in Kamchatka, she began exploring the theme of what everyday harm or hurt against women looks like. She did not wish to pursue the narrative of trauma, but rather the everyday living experiences of women. This eventually led to the publication of her debut novel ''

'' in 2019, which was shortlisted for the 2019

. The book, which was based on the fictional kidnapping of two girls in the Kamchatka Peninsula, was also named one of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Top 10 Best Books of 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Julia 1988 births Living people Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni Writers from Montclair, New Jersey Barnard College alumni American women novelists 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers