There have been several well-known books written about creativity. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron is a classic. Rachael and I talked about Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic in an episode last year. Both of them deserve the hype and longevity, and there are others too of course.
None of the books I’ve read about creativity or writing, even a book that might be classified as inspirational self-help (or perhaps I just made up that category), has quite the combination of warmth, compassion, urgency and practicality as British-resident, Australian-raised Amie McNee’s new book We Need Your Art.
Amie is an author, speaker, creative guide and the founder of the popular Instagram account Inspired to Write, where she has over half a million followers. She writes historical fiction and has released two novels, Regrettably, I Am About to Cause Trouble and The Rules Upheld by No One. She is known for speaking, teaching and coaching artists all over the world, and We Need Your Art is a way of having her coaching you all the time.
Because what Amie says and how she says it have a way of making each day feel interesting and limitless.
It was a tremendous privilege to have the opportunity to talk to Amie about her work, her teaching, and her fiction, and to delve into how We Need Your Art was written and why.
It is a book for everyone, because Amie fervently believes that EVERYONE should be creating. Everyone should be making art. So if you need a jolt - or a lightning bolt - or just a reminder that whatever project you’re working on is worth getting back to or persevering with, read this book. There is so much that’s great about it that we couldn’t possibly cover it in this interview, but hopefully that gives you that much more incentive to buy the book.
We Need Your Art by Amie McNee is out now from Penguin Books Australia.
For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.com
Rachael's latest book is The Bad Bridesmaid (2025)
For more about Sophie Green: https://sophiegreenauthor.com
Sophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (2024)
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