Susan K. Perry, Ph.D.

Susan K. Perry, Ph.D., is a writer and social psychologist. After years of nonfiction writing, she became curious about how top writers accomplish their feats of creativity. Famed flow researcher Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi agreed to be on her doctoral committee, and she interviewed more than 75 best-selling and award-winning novelists and poets, including Jane Smiley, Billy Collins, Robert Olen Butler, Ethan Canin, and Ursula LeGuin. The resulting book was the Los Angeles Times-bestseller, Writing in Flow: Keys to Enhanced Creativity.

Susan presented a plenary talk on Creating in Flow at the Optimal Functioning Conference, and she contributed chapters to Faces of the Muse: How People Think, Work, and Act Creatively in Diverse Domains (Erlbaum) and Psychology of Creative Writing (Cambridge University Press).

Among her other popular books are Loving in Flow: How the Happiest Couples Get and Stay That Way and Playing Smart. She has also written articles, essays, reviews, and advice columns for publications such as Psychology Today, Los Angeles Magazine, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Woman's World, and she has been quoted widely in national media. She has taught at the UCLA Extension Writers' Program and numerous other venues.

Susan is currently polishing her first novel.  To see her Writing FAQ, reviews of books on writers, writing, and creativity, or to learn more about her books (or buy discounted signed copies), visit her site (link to the right).