Cristy Burne

Blending science and creativity to inspire change
Atom-smashing journalist turned award-winning children’s author Cristy Burne blends science and story to find fun, inspire innovation and create positive change.
![]() |
![]() |
Cristy’s international career covers six countries, three degrees, and jobs that include patent translating and magazine editing as well as science journalism at CERN (home of the Large Hadron Collider) and exploding things at Questacon (as part of a science circus).
Cristy works at the intersection of story, science, technology and creativity to help audiences find motivation, courage and creativity. Cristy speaks at dozens of events each year, helping more than 100,000 people all over the world to embrace creativity with confidence.
She has also bungee-jumped, sky-dived, back-packed and (accidentally) exploded sewage on her neighbour.
Cristy’s books have been published internationally and recognised in the WA Premier’s Book Awards, the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year, the Wilderness Society’s Environment Prize, the WA Young Reader’s Book Awards, and the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year awards.
Profile photo credit - J Wyld
Other photos - Emma Dolzadelli Minderoo Foundation
Meet the Author sessions – schools, festivals (45-60 minutes)
Audience size: Unlimited
Requirements: Somewhere to show slides and capacity to play audio; somewhere to plug in a couple of things; a large table for props, books and demonstrations; a microphone if audience is larger than 60ish
Available: Virtual and in-person
Meet Cristy Burne in these assembly-style shows: Cristy’s talks are experiential, exciting, engaging, inspiring and FUN. Cristy’s focus is on motivating her audiences to live creatively and courageously. Cristy uses science as a metaphor to explain everything from plot structure and writing suspense through to creative problem solving and secrets for success.
Photo credit J Wyld
Writing workshops – schools, adults, festivals (60-90 minutes)
Audience size: More intimate and interactive when limited to one or two classes
Requirements: Somewhere to show slides and capacity to play audio; somewhere to plug in a couple of things; a large table for props, books and demonstrations; whiteboard and markers; a microphone if audience is larger than 60ish. Participants bring something to write with and on.
Available: Virtual and in-person
These are hands-on writing workshops. Cristy’s focus is on having fun with creativity, writing for the joy of creating, and unleashing some of the power that comes with knowing a few tips and tricks of the writing trade. Bring with something to write with and on.
Testimonials
Cristy Burne was an absolute delight to have at our school! Her visit fell during the perfect crossover of Book Week and Science Week, and she brought both worlds together with infectious enthusiasm, humour, and heart.
From the moment she arrived, Cristy captivated our students and staff alike. Her presentations were the perfect blend of science, storytelling, and silliness — complete with live experiments, inspiring messages, and plenty of laughter. She spoke powerfully about creativity, resilience, and the joy of learning, with her story about Fiona Wood particularly resonating with our older students.
Cristy’s energy didn’t stop at the stage — she generously signed books, notebooks, drink bottles, rulers, and even a roll of toilet paper! She made time to pop into classrooms, connect with students, and share her love of science and writing in every interaction.
Warm, engaging, and full of life, Cristy left a lasting impression on our whole school community. We are so grateful for the experience and can’t recommend her highly enough.
North Harrisdale Primary School - 2025You were such a delight to have. You’re a total pro, and the kids couldn’t stop raving about you.
Whitsunday Voices - 2025Students in both the junior and senior sessions were engaged, entertained, amused and inspired by Cristy. During her presentation they asked questions that demonstrated genuine thought and interest. Students enjoyed the insight into the study and practice of science and very much were entertained by the inclusion of science in the presentation.
After the show, students were actively seeking Cristy’s signature. My Level 6s are scrambling to read both Cristy’s Fiona Wood story and her true family tale about the leeches, ‘Beneath the Trees’. Cristy was relatable, warm, funny and inspired the students at Deepdene to think about the rewards that come from hard work, striving to achieve goals in the face of adversity, never giving up on what you believe in AND – VERY importantly- having a laugh and enjoying the journey.
Deepdene Primary School - 2025The children and staff are still talking about your visit and your books are flying out the library from students and teachers alike! Your teacher notes have been passed on and gratefully received. We certainly will recommend you to anyone looking for a speaker and I will happily forward on a review for you. I asked the staff for any feedback and everything was positive. Quite honestly it’s the best author talk we’ve had! I have never seen the kids so engaged before, especially the older students, they can be a tough crowd.
Queen of Apostles School - 2025The students were very engaged by Cristy’s stories and overall presentation. She was able to keep everyone involved with her fabulous sense of humour and storytelling. There were squeals of laughter throughout the performance from both adults and students alike. She was able to demonstrate the process of creating an interesting story through personal experience and wild imagination. This was a challenging gig – to keep such a large group of students engaged when their ages ranged from 5 -11 was a big ask but Cristy delivered. The students found her science background interesting and loved how she converted a vacuum into a marshmallow gun. Letting the students try to catch them in a net was a huge hit. She walked the students through the process of modifying the vacuum until it finally worked. Her story of working in Switzerland in the Hadron Collider complex was inspiring as was her stories about writing for competitions and not giving us despite getting knocked back multiple times. I highly recommend having Cristy visit your school.
Quintilian School - 2025
Into the Blue
Ultra Violet: Down to Business
Suzy Urbaniak: Volcano hunter and STEAM Warrior
Wednesday Weeks and the Dungeon of Fire
Wednesday Weeks and the Tower of Shadows
Wednesday Weeks and the Crown of Destiny
Beneath the Trees
Aussie STEM - Fiona Wood - Inventor of Spray-on Skin
Zeroes and Ones
Off the Track
To the Lighthouse
Western Australia
Speaker type
- Author
- Storyteller / Performer
- Journalist / Feature writer
- Motivational
- Memoir Writing
Audience
- Prep - Year 2
- Year 3-6
- Year 7-9
- Year 10-12
- Adult