Sean is available as a keynote speaker, moderator, or panelist
An award-winning author, Director of the Center for Story at Shenandoah University, and publisher of the e-zine Movable Type, Sean has interviewed hundreds of creatives, industry leaders, and artists about issues ranging from culture and politics to music and technology. His podcast Some Things Considered, launched in 2024, has found him talking to some of our most celebrated writers, educators, and advocates.
"I’ve known Sean for two decades, having been introduced to him as a writer and an admirer or his fine writing, and now I’m in awe of his organizational talent and commitment to the arts. It’s a rare person who can contribute via the written word and through nourishing other writers. Sean is that person, and I have 1000% confidence in and enthusiasm for the work her does."
— JENNA BLUM NYT best-selling author of Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family
Sean founded the non-profit 1455 Literary Arts in 2017, and through its year-round, free programming—including festivals, workshops, and author series—he has connected communities and been a champion for creative arts with an emphasis on underrepresented voices. With his deep experience as leader and curator, and conviction about the power of story and narrative to shape change, he can help guide or present at your in-person or virtual event or retreat.
Recent SPEAKING EventS
Sean has spoken at book festivals, writing retreats, college classrooms, and tech conferences. His areas of interest and expertise include how to navigate the creative marketplace, the intersection of innovation and entertainment, how to encourage the use of powerful narrative in business, education, and the arts, the value and enrichment of a degree in the Humanities, arts criticism, and how to thrive as a creative (with or without specialized degrees or connections).
Sean Murphy
A Storyteller Covering The World, One Topic at a Time
Sean Murphy is founder of the non-profit 1455 Literary Arts, and directs the Center for Story at Shenandoah University. He has appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and been quoted in USA Today, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and AdAge. A long-time columnist for PopMatters, his work has also appeared in Salon, The Village Voice, Washington City Paper, The Good Men Project, Sequestrum, Blue Mountain Review, and others. His chapbook, The Blackened Blues, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2021. His second collection of poems, Rhapsodies in Blue was published by Kelsay Books in 2023. His third collection, Kinds of Blue, and This Kind of Man, his first collection of short fiction, released in May 2024. He has been nominated four times for the Pushcart Prize, twice for Best of Net, and his book Please Talk about Me When I’m Gone was the winner of the 2022 Memoir Prize.
"I’ve been telling—and savoring—words for as long as I can remember. Since I first began writing, I’ve been obsessed with the ways powerful narratives explain our world while creating new possibilities, how art broadens awareness and builds empathy."
— SEAN MURPHY
