Calling Down
the Muse
Award-winning poet, storyteller, and 82nd Airborne veteran Derrick C. Brown brings third-level creative thinking to stages worldwide — igniting teams, classrooms, and conferences with the tools to live more imaginatively.
What If Your Team
Thought Like Poets?
Most creativity lectures tell you to “think outside the box.” That’s first-level thinking. Second-level is rearranging what’s inside. Third-level? You dissolve the box entirely and build something nobody saw coming.
Derrick C. Brown has spent three decades pushing the creative mind past its comfort zone — from the 82nd Airborne Division to the stages of the Berlin International Literary Festival, the Sydney Writers’ Festival, and the LA Times Festival of Books. His lectures aren’t motivational fluff. They’re practical, irreverent, and designed to rewire how your people approach problems, pitches, and creative breakthroughs.
As the current Poet Laureate of Los Feliz, California and founder of Write Bloody Publishing — praised by Forbes as one of America’s top independent presses — Derrick brings two decades of entrepreneurial creativity to every talk. His “Your River Is Waiting” workshop series, recently featured at MiraCosta College and the Space Beach Law Lab (where he’s a two-time guest lecturer), has helped lawyers, engineers, students, and executives unlock creative capacities they didn’t know they had.
Derrick C. Brown is a rare combination of Creative Professional and Literary Innovator. — Amber Tamblyn, Author & Actor
Ignite Innovation.
Transform Thinking.
Each lecture is a carefully crafted experience — part storytelling, part creative bootcamp, part stand-up — designed to leave your audience not just inspired but equipped with tools they’ll use the next morning.
Calling Down the Muse
Shatter conventional thinking and learn to live creatively throughout your entire day. This isn’t about painting or journaling — it’s about rewiring your relationship with ideas, intuition, and the courage to act on both.
The Power of Poetry
Harness imagistic language for impactful communication — whether you’ve ever considered yourself a poet or not. Now you are. Learn to distill complex ideas into unforgettable, vivid language your audience can feel.
The Sunset Reset
Revitalize your mind through ten vision steps for peak creative performance. A structured system for breaking through stagnation and rediscovering purpose in your work — no matter how long you’ve been doing it.
The Unforgettable Pitch
Perfect your pitch through the power of humor, movement, and narrative. Learn storytelling from an award-winning storyteller by “putting a little mustard on it.” Your next presentation won’t sound like everybody else’s.
Your River Is Waiting
Hands-on creative workshops that deliver pure, actionable content — no fluff, no trust falls. Whether it’s a 90-minute session or a multi-day intensive, participants leave with tools they’ll actually use.
- Captivating performance techniques for reading and presenting your work
- Proven writer’s block busters — practical tools, not platitudes
- Professional editing strategies from 165+ published titles
- Insider publishing secrets from 20+ years running an acclaimed press
- Third-level creative thinking exercises to push past comfortable ideas
- Calling down the muse — building rituals that summon creative flow
- Writing as architecture — structuring raw ideas into powerful finished work
- The art of the unforgettable image — language that makes people stop and feel
- From page to stage — owning your voice in any room
- Personalized feedback and live workshopping with Derrick
3,000+ Stages.
Every State.
Six Continents.
Readings and lectures in every U.S. state, plus major international festivals and universities across the globe.
Derrick C. Brown is a rare combination of Creative Professional and Literary Innovator. His ability to connect with an audience while delivering real, usable creative tools is unmatched.
Bring Derrick to Your Stage
Tailored lecture and workshop packages available. Limited availability — book early to secure your date.
Single Session
A focused 60–90 minute workshop for your team, class, or conference.
- One signature workshop or lecture
- Pre-event consultation call
- Customized to your audience
- Q&A session included
Keynote + Workshop
A keynote lecture plus a hands-on breakout session. Full creative immersion.
- Signature keynote lecture
- Interactive workshop session
- Pre-event strategy call
- Signed books for attendees
- Custom content for your org
Multi-Day Intensive
The full experience. Multi-session deep dive for teams serious about transformation.
- Multiple lectures & workshops
- 1-on-1 creative consultations
- Full “Your River Is Waiting” series
- Signed books + follow-up resources
- Post-event debrief session
Ready to Spark
Something New?
Start with a free 10–15 minute Zoom consultation. Share your vision — whether you’re a university, a Fortune 500 team, or a festival — and let’s build something your audience won’t forget.
Email to Book