Jo-Anne Berthelsen, Author and Speaker
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Upcoming speaking engagements for 2025

Tuesday 6th May, 10.00am, First Tuesday Fellowship, Springwood Baptist Church, 313 Macquarie Rd, Springwood NSW 

Friday 9th May 10.00am, Seniors' Group, Glenbrook Baptist Church, 45 King St, Glenbrook NSW

Tuesday 20th May, 10.00am, Combined Probus Club of Castle Hill. Cherrybrook Community and Cultural Centre, 31 Shepherds Lane, Cherrybrook NSW

Wednesday 21st May 12.00–2.15, Prime Time, St Luke’s Anglican Church, 157 Galston Rd, Hornsby Heights NSW

Monday 26th May, 
Sutherland Combined Probus Club, Gymea Bowling Club, 691 Kingsway, Gymea NSW

Other places to meet me and check out my books in 2025 - I would love to see you there!

Saturday 21st June, 10.00am-3.00pm - promotional author visit to Koorong Bookstore, 28 West Parade, West Ryde NSW.
Please come and chat - I would love to meet you on the day and sign one of my books (or two or three) for you!


Possible speaking topics

If you decide to invite me to speak at your group, club or church, I am happy to suggest a topic or to fit in with what you might suggest. I am comfortable speaking on a general writing-related topic or on a specific area of the Christian faith. I almost always include illustrations from my own life journey and my books that will hopefully connect well with those listening.

Here are just a few examples of topics/general areas I am often asked to speak about. Some emerge as key themes in my novels, while others form the basis of my three non-fiction books--Soul Friend: The story of a shared spiritual journey; Becoming Me: Finding my true self in God; and Swansong: Start creating your legacy of life-giving words today. 

Talks I currently have available for community groups:
  • ‘Write from the Heart' (My own journey towards publication plus the good and bad news of being published!)
  • 'From the Ridiculous to the Sublime'--True Travel Tales (audience encouraged to remember/share their own experiences)
  • 'The Perils and Privileges of Public Speaking' (Reflections from my experiences of speaking in many different settings) 

Possible themes that could be explored at church groups:
  • The power of our words
  • Reaching our God-given potential (holding onto our God-given dreams)
  • Living in God's love and grace
  • Moving with God through change​
  • Fully ‘me' for God (overcoming self-doubt, using my God-given gifts)
  • The freedom of forgiveness
  • Experiencing God's acceptance (overcoming rejection)
  • Reaching out, enriching others
  • Being a spiritual companion--mentoring others

Workshops

I love encouraging others on their writing journey, so am happy to present writing workshops in both church and secular settings.  These can vary in length, according to what is required, from one or two hours to an entire day. 

Topics on which I have presented writing workshops in the past have been:
  • Getting Started In Writing
  • Getting Published
  • Creating Characters from Real Life
  • Getting in before your editor does
  • Memoir Writing: You can handle the truth
  • Staying Motivated: Seeing your book through to completion
  • Keeping God in the Writing Journey
  • Promoting your book for all it's worth
  • Writing that irresistible book proposal
I also love conducting experiential creative writing workshops that employ various writing prompts and exercises to enable participants to tap into their unique, God-given creativity.
To contact me about speaking or conducting workshops, please visit the Contact Me page.
Photo from blmurch