talks + workshops

SPEAKING

I’m Amy Suto — bestselling author of Write for Money and Power, creator of a Top 20 Business Substack with 44,000+ subscribers, and a former Hollywood TV writer. I give talks about creativity and money that people actually buy tickets for: my most recent lecture with Big Brain, the Bay Area’s paid speaker series, sold out — and my bookstore writing classes run waitlists. Occasionally I take on paid speaking engagements, depending on my schedule — the form below is the fastest way to check availability.

Book Amy to Speak
Amy Suto delivering a sold-out talk at the Big Brain Lecture Series in Oakland
Sold-out Big Brain lectureWaitlisted bookstore classes44K+ newsletter readersTop 20 Business SubstackBased in San Francisco · travels & virtual

Talks I give

The Death of the Starving Artist

The keynote version of Write for Money and Power: where the starving artist myth actually came from, why artists like Michelangelo were entrepreneurial, and how creative people build leverage today.

Creativity & Creative Productivity

How working creatives actually finish things: growth weeks vs. maintenance weeks, protecting deep work, and building a creative practice that doesn’t run on burnout.

How Creatives Can Use AI

A working writer’s honest, hype-free take: where AI genuinely helps a creative business, where it can’t follow you, and how to use the tools without losing your voice.

The New Age of Writing

What replaced the old gatekeepers: newsletters, self-publishing, serialized fiction, and community — and what it means for anyone building a writing career now.

Paid Newsletters & Substack

How I grew Make Writing Your Job to 44K+ subscribers and $267K in gross annualized revenue with no paid ads — the strategy, the pricing, and the mistakes.

Your Audience, Your Idea

Have a theme in mind for your conference, offsite, or series? I love building custom talks where creativity meets money, media, and technology.

Recent rooms

My latest talk was a sold-out night with the Big Brain Lecture Series in Oakland — the Bay Area series that packs bars, theaters, and community spaces with people who pay to nerd out on a Friday night. Big Brain’s lectures routinely sell out — so much so that its founder quit her corporate job to run the series full time. My talk turned the thesis of Write for Money and Power into a night out: the starving artist myth is PR, and you were never the customer.

I also teach in-person writing classes at local bookstores — like my session at The Love Potion Library on using TV screenwriting techniques to write romance novels — and those seats go fast enough that the events run waitlists. Audiences leave with frameworks they can use Monday morning, not just inspiration.

Amy Suto mid-lecture at the sold-out Big Brain Lecture Series talk in Oakland
The sold-out Big Brain lecture — Oakland, 2026.
Amy Suto outside The Love Potion Library bookstore before teaching her waitlisted romance-writing class
Before the waitlisted class at The Love Potion Library.

Formats

  • Keynotes & speaker series— 30–60 minute talks with Q&A, built for ticketed series, conferences, and festivals.
  • Corporate talks & workshops — creativity, writing, and AI-for-creative-work sessions for teams, offsites, and lunch-and-learns.
  • Bookstore & community events — hands-on writing classes, author talks, and salon-style conversations.
  • Panels, fireside chats & virtual — happy to join remotely for global teams and online summits.

Speaking engagements are paid and scheduled around my writing calendar — tell me your dates early. For media, audience stats, photos, and everything a producer needs, my press kit has it all in one place.

Inquire about a speaking engagement