social impact

Writing is my way of celebrating joy, channeling pain, and recharging the batteries for the next phase in life. It is fuel for the soul to use the written, spoken, and visual word to raise awareness about topics I care deeply about, in particular antibullying, domestic violence prevention and mental health awareness. 

​PASSION PROJECTS

Outside of spending time with family, writing, and full-time corporate work, one of the things I'm incredibly passionate about is motivating high school students to chase their dreams, no matter what obstacles they might face. I'm an anti-bullying advocate, promoter of gender equity initiatives, and am a mentor for 'Share the Spark', mentoring youths on embracing their creativity to find their spark and lead a fulfilled life. At STEM events, you'll often find me key note speaking or on judging panels, encouraging girls to study Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics. I try to raise awareness about what opportunities are out there if they adopt a hard working ethos and are passionate about achieving their goals. I firmly believe that if you aim for the stars and miss, you just might land on the moon!

Starting out life, we were a working class family, living in a council estate during the Thatcher era. There was a small, derelict, coal mine at the top of the street. I've also lived in beautiful Western Australia, which ironically has an economy fueled by the mining industry. Now home is in Sydney, writing every day while also working for one of the world's largest multinationals securing work for thousands of people daily. I feel blessed to have enjoyed such varied experiences.

Occasionally, I look back on bleak elements of my childhood. Being verbally bullied in the high school corridors was a particular low point. Yet these moments are what made me resilient and an advocate for change today, supporting anti-bullying and mental health awareness initiatives through both my writing and corporate work.​
Key Note Speaking on Antibullying and Resilience
I was relentlessly bullied in high school. Verbal taunting as I walked the corridors wore me down, giving me first hand experience of being on the receiving end of this type of negative behaviour. Now, I am a prominent anti-bullying advocate, speaking in various forums and schools about the impacts of bullying and the power of resilience. Magazines such as Now, Kidspot and Girl have featured my non-fiction articles on the prevention of bullying. 
For schools interested in booking an author talk, please email me: kellyvannelsonauthor@gmail.com.
Thank you to St Simon Peter Catholic Primary School in Western Australia for inviting me to spend time with Year 6 student and for the above Year 6 incursion post on your school zine.
Click below to read the Student Edge news article on 'How to Deal With Workplace Bullying'.
Thank you Student Edge and reporter Stephanie McKenna for taking time to interview me on RUOKDAY about workplace bullying as part of your work ready and resilience education strategies, communicated in Student Edge news to over one million students. Student Edge are the largest member-based organisation of high school, TAFE, VET and university students in Australia. Great to see the increasing focus on antibullying strategies to ensure diversity and inclusiveness is embraced.​ #antibullying #speakout #resilience #ruok
Northern Territory News put the spotlight on antibullying strategies for parents with my non-fiction article on 'How to beat a bully without using fists'. Click the article to read more ...

AUTHORS FOR FIREYS

Authors For Fireys was an auction of signed books, illustrations, unique experiences, one-off opportunities and writers' services, raising Money for firefighters battling the Australian Bushfires. Over 500 writers and illustrators auctioned literary prizes on Twitter from 6th-11th Jan 2020 under the hashtags #AuthorsForFireys and #AuthorsForFiries. 
Words Worth is a group created for authors, readers and listeners of the written and spoken word, to share ideas that challenge the world. Join the Words Worth group if you would like to be part of an inclusive environment to drive discussion on social injustice with other like-minded artists.
Tickled pink with this  AusMumpreneur Ambassador guest feature, published after picking up gold at the AusMumpreneur Awards in the category of 'Big Idea - Changing the World' for my work as a prominent antibullying, domestic violence prevention, and mental health awareness advocate, leveraging the power of the written, spoken, and visual word to drive change.
Click the picture for the full article...
In 2019, a flash fiction piece of mine, written on the theme of kindness, will feature in an anthology published by Lapidus International, a not-for profit organisation in the UK. Lapidus is a warm community of professionals who use words and expressive arts to promote well-being and good mental health. What a great feeling to be able to positively contribute back to society.
​Musings from a Writer's Retreat
On a Winter Writers Retreat in Wales, I was blessed to spend a week with Harper Collins romance author, Tess Woods, and five other fabulous female writers. Every morning we would open a happy pill fortune cookie to inspire our day. On day one, I found these words that sum up my outlook, which is to pursue the dream and live life to it's fullest:

Oscar Wilde, Irish Poet (1854 - 1900)
"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

(Fate certainly raised its head when my poetry collection, Graffiti Lane, landed next to Oscar Wilde on the Amazon UK Bestsellers Bookshelf!)​

Tess Woods is the author of Love at First Flight, Beautiful Messy Love, and Love and Other Battles. Visit her website for more news of her books and upcoming retreats at http://www.tesswoods.com.au/