Jo Thornely's Zealot

Join us at for the launch of Jo Thornely's Zealot, based on the popular Australian podcast of the same name. Zealot is a comprehensive and compelling look at cults around the world and why people are drawn to them. Jo will be in-conversation with writer, comedian, curator and broadcaster Eddie Sharp of FBi Radio. This is going to be a great night!

About The Book

Why would anyone join a cult? Maybe they're unhappy with their current religion, or they want to change the world, or they're disappointed with their lives and want to find something bigger or holier that makes sense of this confusing, chaotic and dangerous world. Or maybe they just want to give themselves the best possible chance of having sex with aliens.

Whatever the reason, once people are in, it's usually very difficult for them to leave. Cults have ways of making their followers do loopy, dangerous stuff to prove their loyalty, and in return they get a chance to feel secure within the cult's embrace, with an added bonus of being utterly terrified of the outside world.

From the tragic JONESTOWN Kool-Aid drinkers to the Australian cult THE FAMILY to the fiery Waco climax of THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS, this book is a wide-sweeping look at cults around the world, from the host of the popular podcast ZEALOT.

About Jo Thornely

Jo Thornely has been writing opinion pieces, articles and recaps for over ten years, featuring in and on Marie Claire, news.com.au, Yahoo7, The Women's Weekly, King's Tribune, The Punch and Madison, plus voice-over scripts for television and digital projects, pieces for Women Of Letters, Confession Booth and Erotic Fan Fiction, and co-writing Charlotte Dawson's Air Kiss and Tell: Memoirs of a Blow-Up Doll. She is obsessed with cults.

About Eddie Sharp:

Eddie Sharp is a writer, comedian and broadcaster based in Sydney. He curates and hosts Erotic Fan Fiction at Giant Dwarf, hosts and produces a Sunday morning comedy show on FBi Radio and presents segments for ABCtv's "The Mix". He has performed at The Sydney Writers Festival, The Opera House, Sydney Biennale, Melbourne Comedy Festival and Kaldor Public Art Projects.

A note on the venue:

Zealot will be held in The Vanguard (previously known as Leadbelly), which is a strictly adults only venue.