Amanda Filippelli

KEYNOTE TALKS:
I have a passion for storytelling and for teaching people to have the courage to engage with and share their own story. My talks often address the intersection of creativity and mental health, how to use storytelling as a healing tool, and how storytelling is a tool that can be used to find connection, purpose, and meaning. You don't need to be a writer or an aspiring author to learn about how storytelling impacts your life and your business, or to understand how to use storytelling to help improve your relationships, your creative skills, or your business!

I'm not a traditional speaker. In fact, I'm known for asking people to assemble in intimate circles so that we can better create a dialogue rather than a lecture. In this way, I promote inclusivity in my talks and you can expect a warm and inviting atmosphere during my presentation.

AVAILABLE TALKS + WORKSHOPS:

THE CREATIVE INTERSECTION
Before becoming a professional writer and publisher, Amanda worked in the mental healthcare system for over a decade. Through her work with adolescent survivors of trauma, Amanda realized that storytelling could heal the mind. In this talk, Amanda explores exactly how our brains react, connect to, and work in dialogue with storytelling. Being the true tether between us all, stories—about ourselves and about others—are how we relate to one another and make meaning of the world.

WRITE TO HEAL
The healing properties of storytelling are infinite, and Amanda has developed a number of proven techniques to help people see themselves and their own stories from a distance, so that they can find purpose in them. Whether she’s speaking to a small group of individuals, university faculty, students, or at a corporate meeting, Amanda’s message is that words matter, and so does how we use them.

THE POWER OF STORYTELLING
A combination of her smaller talks infused with the inspirational account of her own trials and tribulations, Amanda explores the revelations that storytelling has offered her—revelations that have pulled her out of hopelessness and into creative success. As a self-made entrepreneur, Amanda uses this keynote opportunity to serve as an example and as an advocate for the power of personal introspection through courageous storytelling.

Amanda speaks on the importance of storytelling, helping her audiences understand that their stories matter. She helps inspire writers to pursue becoming professional authors, and she teaches entrepreneurs how to use storytelling to better brand themselves and boost their business. Amanda’s signature talk promotes unity and inclusivity through storytellng—a universal message that’s important to us all. She also speaks at colleges and and writers’ conferences on the process of editing, literary structures, and about the publishing industry.

WRITING WORKSHOPS + INDUSTRY WORKSHOPS/EVENTS:
I am known for getting my clients pumped up and excited about writing and publishing! In my small group sessions, you can expect me to conduct a condensed workshop of everyone's work. This gives each participant the opportunity to have their work critiqued by a professional editor and publisher, and to learn how to critique others' work effectively. After this, I deliver a six-point seminar as to how to find success as a published author. And along the way, I offer plenty of secret industry knowledge crucial to anyone who is looking for big time success as a writer or author.

For larger corporate groups or publishing presses looking to optimize their editing department, my talk challenges editors to work more efficiently, with more professional and tactical precision. I offer tips to keep editors knowledgeable on industry standards, to keep them motivated and excited about their work, and lead them to become deeper, more introspective readers so they can better serve their clients.

AMANDA is an internationally recognized editor, writer, and book coach. She started her career as an associate editor for the Oyez Review in Chicago, and has studied under a number of industry titans, including Stuart Dybek and Melissa Pritchard. An award-winning writer herself and publishing industry expert, Amanda has done it all from freelance to copy editing to content editing to ghostwriting and book coaching, and as Editor-in-Chief for One Idea Press, she helps authors realize their true voice.

Amanda’s work has also been widely published and featured, including in Barzakh Magazine, TEDxWomenPittsburgh, and WHIRL Magazine. She was the recipient of Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40Under40 award, and is the co-founder of Pittsburgh’s first premier writers’ conference, Pitch, Publish, Promote.

Amanda is also the host of Write to Heal workshops, where she helps people connect and heal through the power of storytelling. Before becoming a professional writer, Amanda worked in the mental healthcare system for ten years, teaching adolescent survivors of trauma how to take control of their narrative. Amanda continues this work through her writing, workshops, the School of Writers, and as a publisher.

Amanda is also the author of Blue Rooms, a book poetry that was adapted for the stage and received with critical acclaim. Amanda believes in creating experiences out of Art, and is currently in progress on her second poetry collection and its supporting experiential event, as well as her literary fiction novel, Lionfish.

I am completely flexible and don't require anything specific from your venue for my talk! However, if you are a small group wishing to have a professional workshop, everyone will need a place to sit and a table top to write on.