Chrys Stevenson (Portrait by Michael Barnett)

Chrys Stevenson, 55,  is a freelance writer, speaker, historian, blogger and social commentator from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Chrys’ professional background is in marketing and PR. She has held senior positions (state manager/marketing manager) at a number of well-known Australian companies including Citibank, Flag Inns, Luxaflex Blinds and Young Achievement Australia. Chrys was also involved in a PR capacity (ticketing) for Brisbane’s XII Commonwealth Games in 1982.

Graduating from Griffith University as a mature-age student, Chrys was awarded a BA with first class honours and the University Medal for Academic Excellence. Her majors at university were literature, sociology, Australian and comparative history and cultural studies. Chrys’ honours thesis looked at the rise of Celtic identity in multicultural Australia.

Chrys was formerly a member of Australian Mensa.

After retiring from the corporate world and completing her education, Chrys renewed a long-held interest in the effects of religious thought on society. She became involved with the Australian atheist and skeptical communities and was the media consultant for the first Global Atheist Convention in 2010. Chrys contributed the first chapter (on the history of Australian atheism) to Warren Bonett’s (2010) The Australian Book of Atheism. Since then, Chrys has developed a career as a freelance writer. Her articles have been published on ABC’s Religion and Ethics, The Drum, Mamamia, Online Opinion, The Punch, New Matilda and elsewhere.

Chrys is now being ‘rediscovered’ as public speaker. During the 90s she presented papers and was the keynote speaker at a number of national and international tourism conferences. More recently, Chrys was the keynote speaker at Dying with Dignity’s NSW annual conference and has twice been a presenter at Queensland’s Reality Writes literary festival (and invited back for 2013).

Chrys’ background in PR and marketing means she is relatively experienced with the media and comfortable giving interviews. Recently, she has been interviewed by Derryn Hinch (3AW), Gary Hardgrave (4BC) and Annie Gaffney (ABC Coast FM).  As convenor of the Sunshine Coast Atheists, Chrys is sometimes called on to comment about atheist issues for the Sunshine Coast Daily.