Julie Sedivy

Julie Sedivy is a writer and linguist whose work straddles scientific and literary worlds. Her book Memory Speaks (Harvard University Press) was shortlisted for two Alberta Literary Awards and was named by The Economist as one of the top five books about language in a “golden age” of language writing. She has contributed writing to outlets such as Nautilus, Discover, Scientific American, the Literary Review of Canada, LA Review of Books, EuropeNow, Aeon + Psyche, and Politico. She is the co-editor (with Rona Altrows) of Waiting, a collection of personal essays (University of Alberta Press), and the co-author (with Souad Shehab) of Ayah and the Big World Outside, a forthcoming children’s book to be published by Orca Books in 2026. Her most recent book, Linguaphile: A Life of Language Love (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), was named by The New Yorker as one of the best books of 2024 and won the W. O. Mitchell City of Calgary Book Prize. Julie is a citizen of three countries.