Kelly Van Nelson

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This podcast features Kelly Van Nelson who is a career juggling author and poet donating items for the #AuthorsForFireys auction. This fundraiser is for the fire fighting effort here in Australia. The full set of #AuthorsForFireys interviews and blog posts will be here as soon as they are published, as interviews and guest blogs for #AuthorsForWildlife will be here.

Graffiti Lane, Kelly Van Nelson’s powerful debut poetry collection, is an Amazon #1 Poetry Bestseller. It focuses on social issues such as bullying, domestic violence, mental health, and suicide, as well as the power of resilience in overcoming obstacles. Her second book, Rolling in the Mud, is coming out soon.

Kelly’s offer

To bid, reply to this tweet. This is a BUNDLE, 10 books plus a skype session suitable for a book club or class.

Bushfire bidding open #AuthorsForFireys – add bid in comments to this post, 💯% proceeds to VIC CFA fireys. Hipster poetry lovers, antibullying groups, schools, & book clubs, I’m auctioning 10 personalised signed copies of my bestseller Graffiti Lane poetry books & 1hr skype Q&A pic.twitter.com/XNhGZC1wFv

— Kelly Van Nelson (@kellyvannelson) January 5, 2020

A bit more about Kelly Van Nelson

Kelly Van Nelson is a bestselling author from the North East of England who lived in Edinburgh, London, and Cape Town before relocating to Australia. She has had numerous poems, short stories, and non-fiction articles featured in publications in the UK, USA and Australia. Her work featured in newspapers such as The West, Daily Mail, Peninsula Living, Daily Telegraph and Manly Daily. Channel 7 News, ABC Radio and  the Today Tonight Show have featured Kelly speaking about cyberbullying. All Gold Logie Award Nominees received gifts of Graffiti Lane at the TV Week Logies in 2019. Graffiti Lane also showcased at the 2019 London Book Fair and Crom Castle Serenity Press Author event launching to the Irish market. The Newman Agency represents Kelly.

Graffiti Lane by Kelly Van Nelson

Graffiti Lane, her powerful debut poetry collection, is an Amazon #1 Poetry Bestseller. It focuses on social issues such as bullying, domestic violence, mental health, and suicide, as well as the power of resilience in overcoming obstacles. Her second book, Rolling in the Mud, is scheduled for release in 2020 via Ginninderra Press. She has performed live at Bankstown Poetry Slam and as the feature act at open mic venues such as Perth Poetry Club. As well as success as a poet. Kelly has also received multiple accolades for her manuscript, The Pinstripe Prisoner, which placed third in the Yeovil Literary Prize, shortlisted in the Wales PENfro first chapter competition, and longlisted in the Exeter Novel Prize.

It doesn’t stop there…

In 2018 she was awarded a First Edition Fellowship through Katharine Susannah Pritchard Writers’ Centre. The fellowship and residency is part of an emerging writer program funded by the Western Australian Department of Local Government, Sports and Cultural Industries and Lotterywest. She is an AusMumpreneur ‘Big Idea (Changing the World)’ Gold Award winner for her creative use of the written, spoken, and visual word as an antibullying advocate, a double Roar Success Award winner for Best Book and Most Powerful Influencer, and a finalist for Social Change Hero. She is also a shortlisted nominee for the 2020 Telstra Business Woman of the Year Award.

Kelly is also the mum of two children, wife of her soulmate of more than two decades and the Managing Director on the executive board of a global Fortune 500. In short, she is a juggler.

Update: new donation information.

As originally wanted by @EmilyGale and @NovaWeetman, this fundraiser is now officially for ALL fire services in Australia. The official Authors For Fireys Website will be updated accordingly. Winning bidders or auctioning authors can nominate funds to the fire service of their choice. #AuthorsForFireys.

Want to know if this is legit?

Yes, it is legit. The whole community — Australian and global — is rallying together to support Australian firefighters, wildlife recuse and bushfire victims. Here are some reports on this effort.

• SBS: Australian authors rally around to raise funds for bushfire relief effort
• SMH: Authors ask readers to dig deep for nation’s bushfire crisis
• Book Riot: AUTHORS SUPPORT AUSTRALIA FIRE SERVICES WITH #AUTHORSFORFIREYS
• Penguin Books: Authors For Fireys — Australian authors band together to support the Country Fire Authority
• Daily Nous: Philosophers Raising Funds for Firefighters in Australia
• ArtsHub: Six ways artists can take action on bushfires

Fundraiser information from Emily Gale

The #AuthorsForFireys auction will take place only on Twitter from Monday 6th January, ending at 11pm AEST on Saturday 11th January. Scores of authors, illustrators and book industry people will host their own individual auction under the hashtag #AuthorsForFireys and bids will take place on each tweet. At the end, the highest bidder will donate the amount directly to the firefighters fund, and the goods/services dispatched once proof of donation has been received.

Items up for auction include signed books, original illustrations, one-off fan-art and craft, unique gifts and manuscript critiques for writers.

There is a supporting site, explaining how it works, at this address: https://authorsforfireys.wixsite.com/website

Given the $18million fundraiser for the NSW RFS this week, proceeds from this auction with be directed to the CFA (Victoria).