Bond is our upcoming (inaugural!) conference examining how creators make a living through the internet. On Friday, March 9th, 2018 we will be featuring an eclectic lineup of speakers who all have a unique perspective on what it takes to build community, share your work, and establish your creative practice as a sustainable, independent business.

Austin Kleon is a writer, artist, speaker, and New York Times bestselling author. His work has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, PBS Newshour, TIME, The Atlantic, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. Now he’s brought his depth and range of experience as a creator to his book, Steal Like An Artist, an illustrated manifesto for creativity in the digital age.

Steal Like An Artist is a lesson in applied creativity. It’s based on a list Austin drew up one day of key insights he wishes he’d known when he started out. He boiled them down into pithy phrases: “Steal like an artist”, “Use your hands”, “Creativity is subtraction”, and many more. He turned that list into a talk, the text and slides from the talk “rocked the creative world” (GalleyCat) and went viral—and since it’s been online, the original blog post has reached millions of readers.

Austin Kleon books

His most recent book, The Steal Like An Artist Journal, is an interactive journal and all-in-one logbook to get those creative juices flowing and keep a record of ideas and discoveries.

The follow-up, Show Your Work!, is a guide to the next step: getting known. Organized around another collection of pithy phrases — “You don’t have to be a genius”, “Share something small every day” — Show Your Work! shows you how sharing generously can work in your favor online. Ranging from broader life lessons about work to the practicalities of internet life, it’s an inspiring manifesto for succeeding as any kind of artist or entrepreneur in the digital age.

Austin is also the author of Newspaper Blackout, a collection of poetry made by redacting newspaper articles with a permanent marker. His art has been called “brilliant” by New York Magazine and The New Yorker said his poems “resurrect the newspaper when everyone else is declaring it dead.” Austin’s work regularly takes place at the intersection of traditional media and modern technology.

We’re excited to have Austin share his unique insight at Bond. His work, and the perspective he shares through his creative projects and his writing, has served as a priceless roadmap for other artists and creators who are navigating their own creative process.

Be sure to head to the official Bond website for more details and announcements including our lineup of speakers and presenters. Space is limited, so reserve your tickets today!