Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon
Kleon at the 2015 Texas Book Festival
Born (1983-06-16) June 16, 1983 (age 41)
Circleville, Ohio, U.S.
Alma materMiami University
OccupationAuthor
Websiteaustinkleon.com

Austin Kleon (born June 16, 1983[1]) is a New York Times bestselling author[2] of five books: Steal Like an Artist; Show Your Work!; Keep Going; Steal Like An Artist Journal; and Newspaper Blackout.[3][4][5]

Kleon's works focus on creativity in today's world. He has spoken at organizations such as Pixar, Google, and TEDx,[6][7] and at conferences such as The Economist's Human Potential Summit and SXSW.[8]

Early life and Education

On June 16, 1983, Kleon was born in Circleville, Ohio, United States. His father was an associate professor at Ohio State University while his mother was a school counsellor and later a school principal. Kleon has two half brothers and a step sister. He graduated as a valedictorian in high school.[9][1][10] Thereafter, he attended Miami University in Ohio.[10]

Career

Kleon started his career in a public library in Cleveland, Ohio. While working in a library, Kleon became a blogger and posted his poems. Kleon also taught library users how to use computers.[10] Kleon taught himself HTML and CSS. In Austin, Texas, Kleon became a web designer for the law school at University of Texas.[10] After Kleon's first book, Newspaper Blackout, was published in 2010, he became a copywriter for Spring box, a digital ad agency.[10]

Kleon's work has been translated into over a dozen languages and featured on major media.[11] He publishes a weekly newsletter to 195.000 subscribers.[12]

Personal life and Influences

Kleon lives in Austin, Texas with his family.[10]

Returning inspirations to his blog are Lynda Barry and Rob Walker.[13]

A notable interest of his lies in library tourism, often imploring his readers to seek out a library card and check out the wide-variety of free offerings available at local institutions.[14]

Bibliography

  • Newspaper Blackout (2010)
  • Steal Like An Artist (2012)
  • Show Your Work! (2014)
  • The Steal Like An Artist Journal (2015)
  • Keep Going (2019)

References

  1. ^ a b Shelfari (2013). Austin Kleon. Retrieved from a May 7, 2013 archive of Kleon's Shelfari page. Retrieved on February 16, 2017.
  2. ^ Examples of Austin Kleon's books appearing on The New York Times Best Seller list: Steal Like an Artist on the NYT Culture best seller list for April 12, 2015; Show Your Work! on the NYT Education best seller list for January 10, 2016.
  3. ^ Austin Kleon Asks 'Is SXSW Over?' During Keynote Address, Hollywood Reporter, Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  4. ^ "Austin Kleon: books, biography, latest update". amazon.com. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "Books by Austin Kleon". Austin Kleon. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  6. ^ Kleon, Austin (September 6, 2013). Mass Fetishization of Creativity. CreativeMornings/ATX, Talk by Austin Kleon, September 6, 2013. Retrieved on 2013-08-05.
  7. ^ Austin Kleon: Steal Like An Artist, TEDxKC (TEDx Kansas City). Filmed in 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  8. ^ Austin Kleon Speaks on Combinatorial Creativity, The Atlantic, by Maria Popova, September 28, 2011. Retrieved on February 16, 2017.
  9. ^ "Austin Kleon FAQ". austinkleon.com. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Essmaker, Ryan and Tina (April 1, 2014). "Austin Kleon". thegreatdiscontent.com. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  11. ^ Talk by Austin Kleon, SXSW. Retrieved on March 7, 2014.
  12. ^ Kleon, Austin. "Austin Kleon | Substack". austinkleon.substack.com. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
  13. ^ "What It Is by Lynda Barry". Austin Kleon. December 19, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  14. ^ "Summer reading assignment". Austin Kleon. May 30, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

Media related to Austin Kleon at Wikimedia Commons