Meet the speaker - Celestia Ward

In this series of posts, we will be introducing to you the speakers at the Western Canadian Conference 2023, and we will start with Celestia Ward.

Celestia Ward co-hosts, edits and produces Squaring the Strange, a biweekly podcast examining the mysterious and the mundane through a critical lens since 2017. A writer and cartoonist by trade, she has spent her life pivoting between written, graphic, and now audio communication. With a background in academic publishing, she currently works as a PR coordinator for Imagine Communications, helping clients tell their stories and coordinating press coverage in local, national, and industry media. Celestia has spoken on panels and given presentations on creativity and educational comics at LogiCAL in California and DragonCon in Atlanta, and she is a recurring columnist for AIPT Comics and Skeptical Inquirer. A graduate of the Writing Seminars program at Johns Hopkins University and recipient of the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts, Celestia resides in Las Vegas with her husband and young son.

Celestia’s talk is “PR 101 For Skeptics“. We all want to see skeptical causes get more airtime, yet a quick glance shows a media filled with misinformation, sensational hokum and unverified rumours. Learn techniques on how to frame a skeptical story so journalists and their editors will be more likely to take notice. From identifying your hook to crafting a pitch or a press release, this primer will arm you with tips on how to contribute to the scientific literacy and skepticism of your local media — and, in doing so, change the world!

I hope you will have a chance to meet her in person at the Western Canadian Conference 2023. Join us, buy your ticket now.