Reflections on the Writing Life

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Joanne Gordon -- who with Starbucks founder and chief executive officer Howard Schultz wrote “Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul” -- will speak at Northwestern University Monday, Oct. 10, as part of the Gertrude and G.D. Crain Jr. Lecture Series.

Her talk, “Finding Your Voice: Reflections on Building a Life as a Professional Writer,” will begin at 4 p.m. in the McCormick Tribune Center Forum, 1870 Campus Drive, on the Evanston campus. Presented by Medill, it is free and open to the public. 

“Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul” chronicles how Schultz returned Starbucks to profitability in his second stint as CEO. The book was on The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-seller lists.

A reporter and contributing editor at Forbes magazine, Gordon has written for Conde Nast’s Portfolio.com, the Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, Working Mother, CosmoGIRL!, Seventeen, Boston Magazine, PINK, MSN.com and The Wall Street Journal’s National Business Employment Weekly. 

She is the author of “Be Happy At Work: 100 Women Who Love Their Jobs, and Why” and co-author of “Closing The Engagement Gap: How Great Companies Unlock Employee Potential for Superior Results,” “Rules of the Red Rubber Ball: Find and Sustain Your Life’s Work” and “Roadtrip Nation: A Guide to Discovering Your Path in Life.”

Gordon received a master’s degree in 1997 from Medill, where she focused on business writing and reporting, was publisher of the magazine project’s Today’s Smart Parent and received the G.D. and Rance Crain Publishing Management Award. 

The Crain lectures regularly bring journalists, newsmakers and others to Northwestern’s Evanston campus to discuss current events and the news business. For more on this or other Crain events, call Catherine Rabenstine at (847) 491-5593 or visit www.medill.northwestern.edu

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