An author is never more vulnerable than when they have a book coming out, so I’ll often reach out to their publicists and snag them for an interview. In this case, the publicist reached out to me, and I’m very glad she did, because I’ve been a fan of Julia’s for a long time, and  her answers are just as beautiful as her work.

I also love how she described the project on her Instagram:

“How cool that I got to be part of @austinkleon ‘s Typewriter Interview series. It comes through snail mail and you need to answer on the same papers and mail it back. I was so worried about making a creative family tree and I avoided it until the end. But ultimately it gave me a chance to look hard at what my biggest influences have been from childhood (the ground) to now (the branches). What a great exercise. (I realize I left some people off by mistake- esp Jason Polan)…”

It’s also a bonus when the interviewee is adept at using a scanner — Julia emailed me the images and I was able to post this one while on vacation! (The originals have reached me via snail mail since then and are now safe and sound in my files.)