Austin Kleon

My latest typewriter interview is with cartoonist James Kochalka. It’s fun and light and exactly like his comics. James has long been an inspiration to me — in the P.S. I mention that James’ sketch...

I’ve been trying to go about the summer Friday newsletters with a sense of lightness, the way I make a collage out of scraps in my drawer — I pull out what I’ve saved, push it around until it makes...

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of getting to chat about Don’t Call It Art with art coach Beth Pickens. I started off the conversation by describing the dream I had after seeing Bob Dylan liv...

My most recent typewriter interview — a big hit with readers! — is with author and illustrator Mark Haddon, who said it was the most enjoyable interview he’s ever done and bestowed upon me my new t...

Phillip Maciak: There is something absurd about hearing a character in a movie utter the title of the movie they’re in out loud. It’s a moment that can be played for laughs, but it’s just as hard n...

I found this diary comic from (checks notes) five years ago. In last Friday’s email, I wrote: In the “Who’s having fun?” section of Don’t Call It Art, I quote Ed Emberley saying, “I am determined t...

“It’s very difficult to be very lazy. It takes a lot of imagination to do nothing and you have to be sufficiently self-confident not to have a bad conscience. You have to have a taste for life, so ...

Here’s a new mixtape, which was really inspired by me being depressed and watching Deerhunter do “Nothing Ever Happened” live in 2011 and getting really obsessed with the late Josh Fauver’s short s...

The latest typewriter interview is with violinist and author Vijay Gupta. A reader said he wished I’d included audio of the musical notation, but I think it’s a nice little treat for those of us wh...

Mark Haddon let it slip on his Instagram that he’s working on a typewriter interview for me: before i even get started i need to celebrate the questions which are a) some of the best i’ve ever been...

Jennifer Daniel did not accept the analog constraints of the typewriter interview, and that’s what made this one extra great.

Every Friday night around 5PM, before I’m about to make our pizza night martinis, I turn on KUTX and listen to “Old School Dance Party” — the “Happy Feet Dance Party with ever-lovin’ John E. Dee pl...

Buy the book Finally — finally! — after 7 years, there’s a new book of mine out in the world: Don’t Call It Art: 10 Ways to Create Like a Kid Again is now available wherever you buy books. Don’t Ca...

My latest mixtape captures my attempt to get over the depression and anxiety that can accompany “The Gulp” in between when you finish something and finally push it out into the world. (Don’t worry,...

The latest typewriter interview is with Brad Neely. Several people told me this is the best one yet.

From my letter, “Fledging season”: I spent an afternoon scanning diaries from 2023 for a speaking gig and I came across all the spring entries from when we had owlets in our backyard owl box. I was...