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DON'T CALL IT ART

Austin Kleon

10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit

In every creative person's life, there are times when you lose the energy, joy, and freedom you had when you were first starting out. From the recent art school graduate to the retiree searching for their creative next step, we all need help returning to the excitement, the sense of discovery, and the raw creativity of a child at play. DON'T CALL IT ART is here to help.
In his most encouraging and inspiriting book yet, Austin Kleon shares 10 rejuvenating lessons he learned from being a studio assistant to the artists closest to his heart: his two young sons. He discovered that nurturing his kids taught him how to create the conditions under which anyone's creativity can thrive. Illustrated in Kleon's signature style of illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, and including the energetic artwork of his sons, DON'T CALL IT ART offers inspiring advice for readers looking to play, make a mess, free their creative spirit and venture beyond their imagination.

Austin Kleon is a writer who draws. He is the author of the bestselling books Keep Going, Show Your Work!, and Steal Like an Artist. His books have sold nearly two million copies in the English-speaking world and have been translated into over 30 languages. His work has been featured on NPR's Morning Edition, Good Morning America, the PBS Newshour, and in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. New York Magazine called his work "brilliant," and The Atlantic called him "positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet.
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Published 2026-05-19 by TarcherPerigee

Comments

Austin Kleon is positively one of the most interesting people on the Internet.

[Kleon has] figured out the secrets to making his talks and writings on fostering creativity both supremely useful and mercifully devoid of arty huckster ham-handedness. Kleon is a new kind of creative mentor for the digital age.

Austin Kleon is one of the brightest new minds on the creative landscape. With simple yet profound insights, he casts aside old stereotypes of the creative life and tells what it's really like.

One of my favorite thinkers... a keen observer of and participant in the creative economy of the digital age.

Kleon isn't a prototypical business guru he's an artist who has some fantastic insights about creativity.

UK & C Particular Books/Penguin Portuguese in Brazil Editora Rocco Thai WeLearn