Julia Drake PR is a boutique literary publicity company that works with book authors as well as creative talent in various fields to maximize exposure for their creative projects via full scale press campaigns, social media promotions & marketing, as well as innovative events, publicity materials, websites, and promotional video trailers.
Especially book authors face a double challenge in light of the vast and ongoing changes in the publishing industry: After the tour de force of completing their manuscript and the long road of getting their book published, they’re now forced to devote an increasing amount of time, energy, and financial resources to promoting their work and building their platform. As publishers keep cutting advances and promotional support (not to speak of emotional support!), this can be a daunting task. Julia Drake PR offers affordable, completely customized book marketing services that identify and exhaust all promotional angles for your book(s) and guarantee the most cost-effective arrangement for your budget and needs.
With the explosion of digital reading devices, books have gone virtual. Working on the forefront of e-book and book app publishing and online promotion, our team helps authors take advantage of technological advances to expand their platform, reach a wider audience, and increase sales. At Julia Drake PR, authors come first.
About Julia Drake, Founder/CEO of Julia Drake Public Relations
Born in the Black Forest, Germany, Julia moved to Los Angeles to study acting for theater and film at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts in film production and screenwriting at UCLA Film School and earned a Master of Fine Arts in screenwriting at the American Film Institute. During the course of her studies, Julia wrote, directed, and produced several award-winning short films. After graduation, she formed the feature film production company “Fireside Film,” with three young filmmakers, including director and husband Jared Drake. Their latest endeavor featured actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis in the independent feature film Visioneers (2009).
Julia’s passion for storytelling led to various freelance writing endeavors for print and online publications, including Indieslate, LA Examiner, and Whole Life Times. She also created content for web-based companies, including Visual Travel Tours, Cosmotourist, and Shmoop University. She braved the dangerous world of blogs, widgets, and tweets and eventually learned to harness the social networking engine to drive buzz, not headaches, to unearth niche markets and to adapt complex story material into web-friendly content.
Julia shifted her focus to the world of books in founding the literary publicity company Julia Drake PR where she employs her writing expertise, film production experience, and new media background to help authors turn the far-reaching changes in the publishing landscape to their advantage and find creative ways to raise awareness for their books, expand their audience base, and generate a larger cultural dialogue around the subjects and themes of their books. Julia has acted as president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association and currently hosts their monthly literary tea. She has mentored at the Los Angeles based non-profit organization WriteGirl and appeared as a speaker on many literary industry panels, including Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC), the UCLA Alumni Association, the Women’s National Book Association, the Lambda Literary Foundation, and The Publishers Association of Los Angeles (PALA).
After moving all over town, Julia finally found her home in the secluded hills of Topanga with her beloved husband, filmmaker Jared Drake.
About Natalie Obando, Associate Publicist at Julia Drake Public Relations
Natalie graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a BA in Journalism, an emphasis in Public Relations and a minor concentration in Creative Writing. She started working with Julia Drake Public Relations as an intern in 2008 and her love for books and PR transpired into the career of her dreams as a literary publicist. Natalie is passionate most about writing, but also about animals and travel and hopes to somehow combine all her passions in the public relations field. In her off time you can find her working with different animal rescue groups, walking her dogs on the beach, or combing through the shelves at her favorite library. Beyond all the writing she does for the numerous campaigns she manages, she still finds time to work on her novel(s). She is zealous about the literary scene in all its facets and is determined to make books and reading an exciting and integral part of mainstream entertainment. Her goal at Julia Drake Public Relations is to exceed her clients’ expectations by staying on top of shifting trends in media and reading culture, market research, and a relentless persistence of connecting great books with their target audience.