Maggie Smith
Award-winning author and poet
Glory Edim
Author and Founder of Well-Read Black Girl, an online platform and book club celebrating the works of Black women authors
Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life
BONUS BOOK GIVEAWAY! FAN is giving away copies of Dear Writer to randomly selected Zoom attendees. Details on the webinar registration page.
New York Times bestselling author and poet Maggie Smith (FAN ’20, ’23) believes creativity is our birthright as human beings. Yes, all of us—no matter our age or profession. Creativity improves our mental health, our adaptability, and our communication skills. In Smith’s new book, Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, she offers, “anything that applies to writing also applies to life. Problem-solving is a creative act. Conversations are creative. Parenting is creative. Falling in love, leaving your job, changing your mind—all creative acts. Creativity isn’t just about making art. Making your life is the ultimate creative act.”
Drawing lessons from her twenty years of teaching experience and her bestselling, craft-focused Substack newsletter, For Dear Life, Smith breaks down creativity into ten essential elements: attention, wonder, vision, play, surprise, vulnerability, restlessness, tenacity, connection, and hope. Each element is explored through short, inspiring essays, followed by generative writing prompts that readers can use to kickstart their own creativity. For example, the section on tenacity tackles how to turn off one’s inner critic, take rejection in stride, and stay inspired through creative blocks. Dear Writer provides tools that artists and readers of all experience levels can apply to their own creative practices and carry with them across genres and into all areas of life.
Smith is the award-winning author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Keep Moving, Goldenrod, Good Bones, and other books. She has been widely published, appearing in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Nation, the New York Times, the Atlantic, The Best American Poetry, and more.
Smith will be in conversation with Glory Edim (FAN ’24), is an award-winning literary tastemaker, entrepreneur, and advocate for diverse voices in literature. Edim is the founder of Well-Read Black Girl, an online platform and book club dedicated to celebrating the works of Black women authors and creating a supportive online community for readers, and author of Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me.
This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.
Event Sponsors
- The Avery Coonley School
- Baker Demonstration School
- Barrington D220
- Beacon Academy
- Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School
- Brickton Montessori School
- British International School of Chicago, Lincoln Park
- British International School of Chicago, South Loop
- Catherine Cook School
- Chicago Jewish Day School
- Compass Health Center
- Countryside Day School
- The Cove School
- Evanston Scholars
- Evanston Township High School D202
- The Family Institute at Northwestern University
- Family Service Center
- The Frances Xavier Warde School
- Francis W. Parker School
- Glencoe D35
- Glenview Public Library
- Gorton Center
- Haven Youth and Family Services
- Hyde Park Day School
- Illinois Student Assistance Commission
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- Lake Forest Academy
- Lake Forest Community High School D115
- Lake Forest Country Day School
- Latin School of Chicago
- Leo Catholic High School
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- Lycée Français de Chicago
- Morgan Park Academy
- New Trier High School D203
- North Shore Country Day
- Northwestern University Office of Neighborhood and Community Relations
- Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
- Pope John XXIII School
- Regina Dominican College Preparatory High School
- Resurrection College Prep High School
- Rogers Park Montessori School
- Roycemore School
- Santa Clara University School of Law
- Science & Arts Academy
- The Sonia Shankman Orthogenic School
- Stevenson High School D125
- Township High School D113
- University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
- Wilmette Public Library
- Wolcott College Prep
- Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
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Upcoming Events
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Doug Bolton, Ph.D.
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Lisa Damour, Ph.D.
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ON ZOOM
Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life
Maggie Smith
Award-winning author and poet
Glory Edim
Author and Founder of Well-Read Black Girl, an online platform and book club celebrating the works of Black women authors
ON ZOOM
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Ethan Kross, Ph.D.
Professor, Management & Organizations, Ross School of Business, and Director of the Emotion and Self Control Lab, University of Michigan
ON ZOOM
