Why we’re excited
Noah Hawley went from playing in bands to writing novels to running television shows, without film school or a business degree along the way. Here he sets out what that path taught him: how to stay creative inside big companies, pick collaborators, protect your time and decide which fights are worth having. It is a career book written from the inside of the entertainment business.
Hawley is best known as the creator of the Fargo television series and the author of the thriller Before the Fall. Writers, artists and anyone trying to build a working life around creative ideas should find this useful.
On our most-anticipated list since 9 November 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about Practical Genius: A Creative’s Guide to Business and Life
There are no reviews of Noah Hawley’s books on The Bookish Elf yet.
At 272 pages it is about the usual length for a other release this month.
From the publisher
From the New York Times best-selling author and award-winning showrunner of Earth and Fargo, a book that will transform how you think about success, and how to get there.
Noah Hawley has not followed a prescribed path. He was a musician who became a novelist, who became a screenwriter, who became a filmmaker and a showrunner (which itself is five jobs). He doesn’t have degrees from film or business school. What he has is an ability to solve problems in a creative way. Now, in Practical Genius, Hawley presents his paradigm-shifting philosophy of work and life to anyone looking to get and stay ahead. He shows how to be adaptable and persistent within large organizations. He shows how to be a strategic thinker as a solitary artist. He shows how to have boundaries, how to find good partners, and how to know when to be a diplomat and when to go to war. Whether you’re an aspiring filmmaker or entrepreneur or climbing the corporate ladder, here is a guide to inventing a fun, emotionally satisfying, and lucrative career.
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read Practical Genius: A Creative’s Guide to Business and Life yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
