Julia Lyon used to interview kids around the world as a newspaper reporter. Now she writes books for them! She is the Utah-based author of A Dinosaur Named Ruth (McElderry/Simon & Schuster), named one of Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of 2021 and A Mighty Girl Book of the Year for 2021. 

A Dinosaur Named Ruth is the true story of a pioneer girl in South Dakota who found dinosaur bones in her own backyard. It was featured at the National Book Festival in 2022, longlisted for the Reading the West Book Award in 2022, and named to the Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading list for 2023. 

Featured twice at the South Dakota Festival of Books (2022 + 2023), Julia has presented to thousands of children across the nation both in person and online, at schools, libraries and bookstores. A former journalist for daily newspapers in Oregon and Utah, including The Salt Lake Tribune, Julia received a United Nations Correspondents Association gold medal after visiting and reporting on refugee camps in Thailand and the families that came to Utah. She is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism and currently lives in Salt Lake City.

Website: julialyon.com

Facebook: @julialyon.author

Instagram: @julialyon.author