Creative Work

The cover of Bicentennial Eve: A Wisconsin Novella by Julie A. Jacob. There is a picture of fireworks.

In addition to freelance writing, I enjoy creating writing—creative nonfiction and fiction. My creative nonfiction essays have been published in Midwest Prairie Review, Open, Under the Sun, and several editions of the TallGrass Writers Guild’s annual anthologies.

My first novella, Bicentennial Eve: A Wisconsin Novella, was published in May 2026 by Fresh Water Press, a woman-owned press that focuses on writers with a connection to Wisconsin’s lakeshore. Bicentennial Eve is a gentle slice-of-life story about an ordinary Wisconsin family in the eve of America’s 200th birthday. As the family members go about their day, each one wrestles with their own dilemma. By the time the fireworks start, everyone has made a step toward their own idea of independence and the pursuit of happiness.

In 2020, I self-published a collection of essays—Two States of Single: Essays on Love, Family, and Living Solo—focused on my life as a single woman living in Chicago, building a life of my own while keeping ties with my family back home. The essays explore lighter topics such as dating and romance, as well as more serious issues of caring for aging parents, the pain of loss, and the promise of renewal – all part of the journey of living Two States of Single. Available on Amazon.