Julie Janson began writing plays with the Australian Aboriginal community while living in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Some of her plays include 'Lotus War '(radio and stage - about a Vietnamese warrior women written for the Asian Arts Festival and the Adelaide Fringe Festival), 'Season to Taste' (radio and stage), 'Venus in Eritrea,', 'Kera Putih' [White Monkey], set in Bali and 'Satan in Arizona'. Her plays often have an Indigenous and an inter-cultural focus.
In 2001, she was awarded an Asialink Literature Residency in Indonesia. During her residency in Indonesia, she workshopped 'The Crocodile Hotel', set in the Northern Territory in the 1970s and Sulawesi in 1920. She also visited theatres and arts organisations across Java, Sumatra and Bali and was hosted by Petra University in Surabaya
She has also been a Writer in Residence in Canberra and Hobart in 2002.