Laura J Peterson made her writing debut as a travel writer for The Best Places to Kiss in the Northwest (Beginning Press) and eventually became managing editor of the travel series, which included guides for Northern and Southern California and Hawaii. She was a contributing author to Her Fork in the Road: Women Celebrate Food and Travel (Travelers’ Tales), and her essays have appeared in online publications such as TheRavensPerch, Wanderlust-Journal, Military Experience and the Arts, and The Redbud Post. Laura worked as a volunteer writer for a nonprofit organization called Medical Teams International. She spent three years teaching English in southern Japan and has also taught Creative Writing to middle schoolers in Washington state.
Laura is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), and a former member of the Redbud Writers Guild. Her first novel, Tomoe and the Secret Island, won “First Place” and “Judges’ Favorite” in the 2019 Ink & Insights Writing Contest. Her most recently novel, The Totally Tubular Travels of Josie Baker, won “First Place” for Middle Grade and “Best Overall Story” in the 2024 PNWA Literary Contest.
Laura lives outside of Seattle with her husband and two daughters. She enjoys hosting friends from Japan and discovering the best places to eat sushi in the Northwest.
Education University of Washington: B.A. in Spanish
