Talks And Workshops
Julia delivers a wide range of author talks and workshops for people of all ages, and is an engaging, thought-provoking keynote speaker and panellist.
Author Talks
Writing Workshops
Writer for Hire
Author Talks
Julia loves sharing her unlikely story of becoming a writer. Her experiences of going from shy child to high school dropout to an award-winning author with a PhD inspires and engages audiences of all ages.
She uses objects and images to bring her story to life, shows students how she’s used life in writing, and her audience participation activities are fun, safe and engaging.
She shares excerpts from her books, demonstrates how a story goes from a draft to a finished piece of published writing, and shows how she’s worked with different illustrators and book designers.
Julia adapts her presentation for all ages, and ensures that content is appropriate for her audience.
Julia has more than twenty years’ experience presenting to children, teenagers, teachers, librarians, and festival-goers on:
- Encouraging resilience
- Sparking creativity with the everyday
- Surviving the tough stuff
- Research and writing life
- Reading and how it develops empathy
- Mental health
- Special topics: space (for primary children); Western Australian history (primary and secondary); values in action (for primary children); life writing (for all ages).
Testimonial on space workshop
It was an inspiring session about the people of Perth lit up their city overnight to acknowledge the special mission of American astronaut John Glenn. Suitable for the age group 7-10 years old, especially with the parachute activity at the end. Recommended for schools, Children’s Book Week and meet the author sessions.
L– Librarian
Writing Workshops
Julia is expert at presenting interactive workshops to help participants learn practical techniques to strengthen their writing and boost storytelling skills – a learn-by-doing approach.
She inspires students to look at the world around them through the lens of creativity, encouraging them to use their own experiences to make narratives that connect with others and to find new understandings of themselves.
Participants will leave each workshop with more writing than they believed they were capable of, ready for them to polish into finished pieces.
They will also have techniques to take away to ignite their writing.
Julia also fosters inclusivity by focusing on storytelling through the use of whatever medium participants prefer.
Workshops can be easily adapted to suit the needs of your students.
Julia’s sessions include:
- Engaging discussions
- Safe audience participation (especially for younger audiences)
- Q and A sessions
- Activities that foster creativity for storytellers of all levels
Testimonial for writing workshops
Julia’s passion for reading, writing and storytelling were front and centre. This enthusiasm was contagious. Students moved from writing short responses to given prompts, to extended writing, across a range of activities. Watching them focused on their writing and sharing work with chosen partners or groups added a real buzz to the sessions.
S– Secondary teacher
Writer for Hire – Writing Groups, Speechwriting, Manuscript Assessment
Julia spent more than two years as a speechwriter, and can create a speech for your event if you don’t have the time.
For writing projects, Julia can provide:
- Feedback about the structure of your manuscript
- Comments on individual chapters or themes
- Advice on the process of writing and editing memoir
- Submission advice
- Discussion on your work via online meetings
Testimonial on mentoring
Julia mentored me on my first-ever novel manuscript and her perceptive advice was so spot-on. She is brave and wise and incredibly knowledgeable. Highly recommended.
C– Cristy Burne, STEAM Queen
Featured Books
Julia Lawrinson, award winning author of more than fifteen books
