Fenton Johnson

Prompt to Page

Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame author Fenton Johnson doesn't believe in writer's block. "Fighting with the white page over a week, a month, a year, sometimes 10 years," he says, "that's what we call writing.... That's just part of the process."

Fenton shares several writing prompts that can help you move beyond the blank page. He also discusses his most recent book, At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life.

About Fenton Johnson

Fenton Johnson is the author of three novels and four works of creative nonfiction, most recently At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life, a New York Times Editors’ Pick.

He has been a contributor to National Public Radio, Harper’s Magazine, and the New York Times Magazine, and has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, among other literary awards.

He has taught in the nation’s leading creative writing programs and continues to lecture and teach nationally. In 2024, he was named to the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame.