538 - Find Your Point of View, Story Insights, and Artist / Audience Dynamics with Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen

Have you ever heard someone say that making creative work is about having a “point of view”? It sounds right, but what does it mean and how do you find yours? I can’t think of any creatives that have a more compelling sense of their “point of view” than my guests today. Author Mac Barnett and author-illustrator Jon Klassen have such a strong voice, and I have been longing to have them both on the show for such a long time!! This is an instant all-timer episode for me. These two legends from the picture book world just knocked it out of the park, and we have an incredible chat exploring how to find your point of view, the artist/audience relationship, storytelling, and so much more. Buckle up. This mega episode starts off with a bang and just gets better and better all the way til the end! This episode will make for a great companion for a long creative session or long drive! Hope you love it as much as I did! SHOW NOTES: Substack: "Looking at Picture Books" "Mac B. Spy Kid" "The Skull" by Jon Klassen "Sam and Dave Dig a Hole" by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen "Extra Yarn" "Where the Wild Things Are" "Goodnight Moon" "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro "Swim in a Pond in the Rain" by George Saunders "Outside Over There" by Maurice Sendak "Sam and the Firefly" by P.D. Eastman "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol "Let the Right One In" "Ponyo" "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" "Mysterious Things" by Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Miller "Making Comics" by Scott McCloud Producer / Editor: Sophie Miller Editing / Sound Design: Conner Jones / Theme Song: Yoni Wolf / WHY? SPONSORS:SQUARESPACEHead to to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PEPTALK AEROPRESSCheck out Aeropress and use my code PEPTALK for a great deal: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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538 - Find Your Point of View, Story Insights, and Artist / Audience Dynamics with Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen is an episode from Creative Pep Talk by Creative Pep Talk.

This episode is 113:20 long.

This episode was published on Jan 14, 2026.

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