Creative Industry Resources from the Pros

This abbreviated list of professional resources is brought to you in partnership with DEMAN (Duke Entertainment, Media & Arts Network) to highlight, in a complimentary fashion, Duke Arts curricular offerings which include creative practice in music, visual art, dance, cinema, theater, literary, and experimental arts.

Check out these DEMAN alumni suggested podcasts, trade publications and books for the inside scoop on working in creative industries.

  • The Mailroom: Hollywood History from the Bottom Up by David Rensin
  • Power House: The Untold Story of Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency by James Andrew Miller
  • The Agency: William Morris & the Hidden History of Show Business by Frank Rose
  • Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull
  • Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad
  • The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood by Tom King
  • You’ll Never Eat Lunch in this Town Again by Julia Phillips
  • When Hollywood Had a King: The Reign of Lew Wasserman by Connie Bruck
  • Kid Stays in the Picture by Robert Evans
  • When I Stop Talking You’ll Know I’m Dead by Jerry Weintraub
  • The Hollywood Assistant’s Handbook by Peter Nowalk & Hillary Stamm
  • They Can Kill You But They Can’t Eat You by Dawn Steel
  • A Pound of Flesh: Perilous Tales of How to Produce Movies in Hollywood by Art Linson
  • Hit & Run: How Jon Peters & Peter Guber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood by Nancy Griffin and Kim Masters
  • Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman
  • Hello, He Lied & Other Tales from the Hollywood Trenches by Lynda Obst
  • Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee
  • Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field
  • What Makes Sammy Run by Budd Schulberg
  • Play It as It Lays by Joan Didion
  • The Big Picture: The Fight for the Future of Movies by Ben Fritz
  • The Hero’s Journey: Joseph Campbell on His Life and Work by Joseph Campbell
  • The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood by Sam Wasson
  • What It Is by Lynda Barry
  • Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
  • The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
  • The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
  • Tiny Beautiful Things by Cherl Strayed
  • Belonging by Toko-pa Turner
  • Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamott
  • Walking in Wonder: Eternal Wisdom for a Modern World by John O’Donohue & Krista Tippett
  • Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
  • Blasted by Sarah Kane
  • Mr. Burns by Anne Washburn
  • Red Noses by Peter Barnes
  • Huis Clos (No Exit) by Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Endgame by Samuel Beckett
  • MFA vs NYC by Chad Harbach
  • An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stanislavski
  • A Director Prepares by Anne Bogart
  • Audition by Michael Shurtleff
  • Acting as a Business: Strategies for Success by Brian O’Neil
  • Tragedy: A Tragedy by Will Eno
  • The Children by Lucy Kirkwood
  • Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio by Jessica Abel
  • Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Today’s Top Comedy Writers by Mike Sacks
  • And Here’s the Kicker: Conversations With 21 Top Humor Writers on Their Craft by Mike Sacks
  • The Daily Show (The Book): An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests by Chris Smith
  • Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live by Doug Hill
  • Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests by James Andrew Miller
  • The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth by David C. Baker
  • So You Want to Direct TV? Sixteen Professionals Share Their Paths to Success by Jacob Pinger
  • On Writing by Steven King
  • Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
  • All You Need to Know About the Music Business: 10th Edition by Donald S. Passman