Entertainment
8 August, 2022
Local author finalist for National Award
CAIRNS author Crystal Leonardi of Bowerbird Publishing has been named as a finalist for the AusMumpreneur Awards in the Author and People’s Choice Making Difference categories.
The AusMumpreneur Awards presented by The Women’s Business School celebrate and recognize Australian Mums in business achieving outstanding success in areas such as business excellence, product development, customer service, and digital innovation.
“My name is Crystal Leonardi, and I am an author, motivational speaker, publisher, wife, and mother to four beautiful children,” Ms Leonardi said.
“I was born and raised in Cairns but now call Julatten’ home’.
“My lifelong dream of becoming an author was fulfilled in September 2021, with the publication of ‘Boy of Steel’.
“I have enjoyed being interviewed for TV, radio, magazine, and newspaper and feel very blessed to be an advocate for hope and a voice for sick children.”
Ms Leonardi has had a couple of busy years in which she has worked on three different publications, nurtured her business, and got nominated for the AusMumpreneur Awards.
“Looking to the future, I hope to continue to grow my audiences through my business Bowerbird Publishing, as a motivational speaker, mentor, publisher, and writer,” she said.
“My second book, ‘My Brother Sebastian’, is currently being worked on by my illustrator and will be ready for publication in August.
“My third book, ‘6 Steps to Self-Publishing with Crystal Leonardi’ is an interactive handbook aimed at writers wanting to commence a selfpublishing project.”
Her experience with a sick child inspired her to become an author and launched her into a new passion for motivational speaking. It is this versatility that has granted her a nomination.
“‘Boy of Steel’ has been embraced and recognized by audiences as not only my story of survival but as a gritty memoir that peers into every corner and crevice of my heartbreak and devastation, unexpectedly balanced out with an uplifting message of hope and how the power of a mother’s love made survival possible,” Ms Leonardi said.
“By sharing my story, I had become an ambassador for overcoming adversity and was newly equipped with the confidence I needed to start Bowerbird Publishing.
“As a self-published author, I learned how to successfully manage and market myself without the assistance of one of the ‘Big-4’ publishing houses here in Australia.”
There are many benefits to balancing business and motherhood Ms Leonardi explained.
“I believe becoming a published author under such tragic circumstances has fostered a genuine motivation to help others. I have turned my tragedy into triumph,” she said.
“I have turned cancer into a best-selling book and turned that book into a publishing company and a new career as a writer, mentor, and motivational speaker.”
The winners of the 2022 AusMumpreneur Awards will be announced in Sydney this September. For more information on the AusMumpreneur Awards, visit https://ausmumpreneur.com
