Inspired: Understanding Creativity: A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul

In his viral New York Times piece “How to Be Creative,” journalist and bestselling author Matt Richtel presented readers with a list of prescriptive advice on how to unleash your inner creativity through steps like paying attention to your imagination, embracing imperfection, and giving your brain some much-needed rest. Now he expands these concepts into a full-length book aiming to uncover the secrets of being more creative, and arguing for the power of creativity in all walks of life.

In Inspired, Richtel investigates the nature of creativity through interviews with prominent creatives on their craft, as well as scientists who have been working to unlock the secrets of the creative brain. Blending science and personal development, Richtel not only walks readers through how to maximize their creative potential, but also provides scientific and anecdotal evidence on how accessing creativity serves as a key to success in any field and a source of deep personal fulfillment and meaning.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matt Richtel has been a reporter at the New York Times since 2000. He won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for a series that exposed the pervasive risks of distracted driving and its root causes, prompting widespread reform. He is the author of the national bestseller An Elegant Defense, which has been hailed as “vividly told” (Jerome Groopman, NYRB), “extraordinary” (Douglas Preston), “deeply affecting" (LARB), "thorough, richly entertaining, and just-wonky-enough" (Wall Street Journal), and “thrilling” (USA Today). His previous book is A Deadly Wandering, which the New York Times Book Review declared, “deserves a spot next to Fast Food Nation and To Kill a Mockingbird in America’s high school curriculums”; it was named a best book of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, Kirkus Reviews, and Winnipeg Free Press. He has appeared on NPR's Fresh Air, PBS Newshour, and other major media outlets. He lives in San Francisco, California.

The books for this giveaway are being provided by Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. We have 20 copies available. The giveaway ends on Sunday, April 24th.