Weekly newsletter: Keep going

This week: thoughts on publishing, genius, learning for learning's sake, and more... 

This week: thoughts on publishing, genius, learning for learning's sake, and more... View this email in your browser Hey y'all, Sometimes you see the perfect sign at the perfect time. Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week:    I was offered my first book deal ten years ago. Here are 3 thoughts on a decade of publishing books.   It's commencement speech season. Here are good ones by the cartoonist Seth and radio host Ira Glass.   The importance of learning for learning's sake.   Genius as circumstance. (See also: scenius.)   Not only is it possible to write while having children, children can lead to some of your best work.     I taped this poem by Mary Karr to my fridge: "Put down that gun, you need a sandwich."   The art of Procrastibaking.   Streaming: I got sucked into HBO's The Defiant Ones, a four-part documentary about Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. And if you can handle raunch, Ali Wong's Netflix specials Baby Cobra and Hard Knock Wife had me rolling.   Ear candy: a playlist of songs from every year, 1925-2018.    RIP Philip Roth. Literary merit aside, the dude knew how to take a nap. Thanks for reading! If you like this newsletter and want to support it, forward it to a friend, buy a book, or tweet me some love. If you're seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here. xoxo,  Austin PS. As of the writing of this email, Show Your Work! — my book about self-promotion for people who hate the very idea of self-promotion — is still only $1.99 on Kindle. Austin Kleon is the author of Steal Like An Artist and other books. Subscribe to this newsletter   Copyright © 2018 Austin Kleon, All rights reserved. My mailing address is: Austin Kleon 4301 W. William Cannon Dr. Suite B 150 #241 Austin, TX 78749 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Weekly newsletter: Made to order

This week: a big announcement, reading recommendations, and more...

This week: a big announcement, reading recommendations, and more... View this email in your browser Hey y'all, Here are 10 things I thought were worth sharing this week: Might as well start with the big news: I'm writing another book! It's based on my "How To Keep Going" talk, and it's going to the 3rd book in a trilogy, along with Steal Like An Artist and Show Your Work! The book is about creative longevity, persistence, and making art in chaotic times. It's basically the book I needed to read a few years ago. I'm so happy with how it's turning out and I wish y'all could read it right now. Thankfully, I'm working with my friends at Workman Publishing again, and we work fast and furious together, so it'll be out in Spring 2019. (That's pretty danged quick in publishing time.) A new book has been a long time coming, so I want to thank all of you for hanging in with me, supporting me, and sharing my work. It makes all the difference.   I wrote about answering that dreaded question, "So what's next for you?" (I recommend replacing it with another question: "What do you want to learn?")   As I mentioned in my newsletter about writing, I need a fun book at night to take my mind off of my own so I can sleep. Last week I finished Lizzy Goodman's Meet Me In The Bathroom, a chronicle of rock music in NYC from 2001-2011. It was good, though probably a little too long, and made me terribly nostalgic for my college days. (The Strokes' Is This It came out my freshman year.) Now I'm attempting to finally read the comic series Love & Rockets. I finished Jaime Hernandez's Maggie The Mechanic, now I'm reading The Girl From H.O.P.P.E.R.S.   A profile of the great Maira Kalman.   My friend Jez Burrows (author of Dictionary Stories) talks to Tom Comitta about the art of cut-up fiction.   My boys are huge fans of Jon Klassen's Hat trilogy, and now they're loving Square, the sequel to Triangle. (Here's Jon and Mac Barnett talking on NPR.) The books always remind me of Bruno Munari's Square, Circle, Triangle. (Owen and I used some of Munari's transparencies this week to make a zine.)   The newly-updated Studs Terkel Radio Archive features 1,500 conversations spanning four decades. I wrote about how his classic book, Working, was inspired by the children's book What Do People Do All Day?   Music writer Geeta Dayal's obituary for Glenn Branca and appreciation of Brian Eno, who just turned 70. (For Eno fans, I recommend her 33 1/3 book on Another Green World.)   The celebrities I admire are the ones who choose to disappear.   Ebook lovers: my book Show Your Work! is currently only $1.99 on Kindle, Nook, and iTunes.  Thanks for reading! If you like this newsletter and want to support it, forward it on to a friend, buy a book, or tweet me some love. If you're seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here. xoxo, Austin PS. If your heart needs a boost, here's a miniature bouquet from my wife's garden, and a song by my 5-year-old. Hang in there! Austin Kleon is the author of Steal Like An Artist and other books. Subscribe to this newsletter   Copyright © 2018 Austin Kleon, All rights reserved. My mailing address is: Austin Kleon 4301 W. William Cannon Dr. Suite B 150 #241 Austin, TX 78749 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Weekly newsletter: On drawing

Last week I shared 10 things about writing, so this week I thought I'd share 10 things about drawing...

View this email in your browser Hey y'all, Other than daily blogging, I haven't done much at all besides work like crazy on a new manuscript. Last week I shared 10 things about writing, so this week I thought I'd share 10 things about the other half of what I do, drawing:  I call myself a "writer who draws," which is something I stole from Saul Steinberg, my all-time favorite drawer.   My favorite piece of writing about drawing: this blog post by film critic Roger Ebert, "You can draw, and probably better than I can." (Here are some of his sketches from Cannes.)   If you don't think you can draw, pick up Emberley's Make A World. (I also like Betty Edwards' classic, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.)   Mister Rogers talking about drawing.   Kids are naturally awesome at drawing. Ever noticed how their drawings look like ancient cave drawings? (My 3-year-old loves drawing along to Super Simple Draw.)   My 3 favorite art supplies for drawing with little kids: Crayola Slick Stix, plain ol' construction paper, and Do-A-Dot markers.   My personal favorite drawing tools: a Blackwing Palamino or Sharpie marker on generic printer paper. I also like Pilot G2 Bolds and Uni-ball Visions. If I had to pick a sketchbook, I'd probably go with a Moleskine sketchbook with the thick pages.    Some favorite drawers you can follow on Instagram for inspiration: @wendymac, @wcraghead, @jasonpolan, @abstractsunday, @davidshrigley, @tuckernichols, @tomthinks, @lianafinck, @squinkyelo, Owen Kleon, and Jules Kleon.   Some other favorite not-on-Instagram-because-they-are-dead drawers: Tove Jansson, William Steig, Basquiat, Klee, Thoreau, and George Grosz.   Drawing is part of a cure. Thanks for reading. Next week I should have some really exciting news to share. If you like this newsletter and want to support it, forward it to a friend, buy a book, or tweet me some love. If you're seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here. xoxo,  Austin Austin Kleon is the author of Steal Like An Artist and other books. Subscribe to this newsletter   Copyright © 2018 Austin Kleon, All rights reserved. My mailing address is: Austin Kleon 4301 W. William Cannon Dr. Suite B 150 #241 Austin, TX 78749 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.