Award-winning Writer & Journalist Alexandra Hudson
Alexandra Hudson is the curator of Civic Renaissance, a newsletter and intellectual community dedicated to moral and cultural renewal. She is an award-winning writer based in Indianapolis. She earned a Master’s degree in Social Policy at the London School of Economics as a Rotary Scholar, and has served at the local, state and federal levels of government and public policy—most recently holding an appointment at the U.S. Department of Education. From Vancouver to Orlando, and from Sydney to Paris, Alexandra is an in-demand speaker, frequently engaging audiences both across America and around the word. A former Novak Journalism Fellow, she has appeared on Fox News and contributes to The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, TIME Magazine, POLITICO Magazine, Newsweek, and other national outlets. Hudson is about to release a book with St. Martin’s Press called The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Our Society and Ourselves. As the daughter of the "Manners Lady," she was raised to respect others. But as she grew up, Hudson discovered a difference between politeness—a superficial appearance of good manners—and true civility. In this timely book, Hudson sheds light on how civility can help bridge our political divide. Provocative, personal, and acutely relevant, The Soul of Civility is an essential book for our era.
How did you first get interested in writing and what do you feel the nonfiction writing area of books can afford writers that essay writing and article writing cannot accomplish?
I feel like part of me has always been a writer—the part that likes to learn out loud and share what I’m learning with others.
I don’t think that essays and books are mutually exclusive.
Even before I had my book deal, I was working out my thinking on civility, civil discourse, and what we owe to others, in essay format. Now that I’m working on my book, I frequently return to pieces I’ve written in the past to see how my thinking has changed, or in many cases, how it hasn’t. There are some things that require the time and space that a book provides to wrestle with, and I’m thrilled for the chance to incorporate my work from past years and eras of my life.
Alexandra Hudson accepting an award at The Fund for American Studies.
What is your creative process like? Any special rituals or practices? Are you reading anything at the moment or from before that has influenced your thinking?
I love to get up early and have time for stillness and reflection. It sets my day on the right foot, proactively, instead of reacting to the day as it unfolds. I also like to do deep reading in the morning. It focuses my mind and helps me concentrate better throughout my day.
A book I’ve loved going through recently is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It’s all about removing the psychological and emotional barriers to our creativity, and to help us become our fullest and best selves by being creative. I’ve really enjoyed reading through it a number of times in recent months.
“I wanted to do that for others: to take something I find beautiful and show others the beauty in it.”
How did you get your start in writing books? Did your background in history/politics/current affairs help inform much of your writing?
I’ve always been a lover and student of history, philosophy and ideas. I love writers who take material they are passionate about and, in the course of their book, show me why I should care about it, too. I wanted to do that for others: to take something I find beautiful and show others the beauty in it.
What has it been like for you in working with George Witte and the team at St. Martin’s in readying The Soul of Civility for publication?
George and the St. Martin’s team have been incredible to work with! George has been an especially patient guide as I write my first book. He is always ready to answer questions I have about concepts in the book or the book-writing process, for which I’m very thankful. He also cares deeply about civility and civil discourse. I couldn’t’ have asked for a better collaborator—or a better publisher—for this project.
Alexandra Hudson on Fox News.
How did you go about getting published? What was the process of assembling a nonfiction book proposal and meeting with editors like?
Assembling the nonfiction book proposal and meeting with editors was the easy and fun part! A nonfiction book proposal has a few basic components: a sample chapter, overview of project, annotated table of contents, market analysis/competitive title review, and a marketing plan. Putting that together was an amazingly fun challenge because it gave me an opportunity to conceive my entire book in its full form. Not an easy task, but an invigorating one!
Meeting with editors was wonderfully fun. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with someone about my work who was nearly as excited about my project as I was! It was great to be able to brainstorm content, packing, and creative vision with someone who knows this business inside and out.
The most challenging thing about being published in the modern world is what the publishing world calls a “platform”—your ability to sell books.
It’s easy to feel discouraged about the process of platform-building today, as it often feels like those with the loudest microphones on social media and television are those that are willing to say and do things that get attention, such as the incendiary and inflammatory.
“I believe that everyone has creative gifts that can benefit the world, which means that anyone can build an audience for their work.”
Yet it also makes sense why publishers care about such things: what’s the point of creating a great book—of sacrificing to bring to life a beautiful work of art—if no one reads it? I believe that everyone has creative gifts that can benefit the world, which means that anyone can build an audience for their work. It makes sense that publishers would want to see authors be the ones to do the hard work of identifying, reaching, and cultivating a relationship with their audience—as authors are really the only ones that can do that.
I earned my book deal only after I worked hard at reaching and cultivating my audience.
Alexandra Hudson’s mother, Judi Vankevich, AKA Judi the Manners Lady.
Manners and civility inform much of the writing behind The Soul of Civility. Can you tell us what your prior experience with these important humanitarian tenants has been like?
I knew I had to write this book after living through a very divided and toxic time in Washington D.C. I came to view my experience as a microcosm of the division of our country as a whole, and wanted to write a book that might help people think more clearly about what it means to be human, the duties of citizenship in a democracy and a free society, and what we owe our fellow citizens.
Also, I was rather raised with these ideals. My mother is Judi the Manners Lady—one of four “Judi’s” in the world of manners and etiquette, funnily enough!—and she’s been in the manners business for nearly as long as I’ve been alive.
But she doesn’t just teach kindness and courtesy—she lives it. She is the most genuinely caring, thoughtful, and selfless person I’ve ever encountered. I think that is what gives someone credibility to talk about why things like manners and kindness are important: they embody those moral ideals of sacrifice and kindness, themselves. I couldn’t have had a better role model growing up for what true civility was: utter self-forgetfulness, hospitality to the stranger, and fundamental joy for life, community, and relationship with others.
My mother embodied the spirit of civility—and she always knew that taking a social risk for the sake of friendship or relationship mattered more than blind conformity with social norms. She was—and still is—always willing to be the first to strike up a conversation, say hello, or greet someone with a warm smile.
My mother’s work in manners, and her powerful example, ensured my early and lifelong interest in exploring the timeless principles of civility that contribute to strong relationships and human flourishing. It sparked my curiosity about the way that our habits and norms of social engagement can either promote or harm human community.
“…that’s what I want my book to be about: defining, understanding, and affirming the timeless principles of civility for our modern, divided world.”
Alexandra Hudson’s The Soul of Civility (St. Martin’s Press)
And that’s what I want my book to be about: defining, understanding, and affirming the timeless principles of civility for our modern, divided world.
My mother’s constant attentiveness to the needs of others and the norms of social engagement probably made me both aware of, and interested in, these ideas more than most people. I’m so grateful to her for that and so many other things.
Let’s assume for a moment that the issues of civility in politics are solved tomorrow. Where do you turn your attention to next? Can you tell us what you are thinking of writing next?
I have my next two book projects fully conceived, actually! I’m really excited about them, and I think they go really well together.
The first is how-to book for the life of mind, and lifelong learning. It will make that case that no life or education is complete without having grappled with a few important questions—what does it mean to be human? What is the best way to live? It will be an important means of answering these questions by encountering how wise people across time and place have answered them for themselves.
The first half of the book will make the case for the Great Conversation—the dialogue of ideas about what it means to be human and the best way to live that has been going on for centuries before us.
The second half will be practical how-to for making time for deep reading, leisure and thinking, and how to find people to talk about books and ideas.
The premise is that often, our formal education and mainstream educational institutions don’t offer people a chance to answer these questions for themselves, so we must answer them on our own. And we don’t need to go back to school do this! Any of us can do so right where we are, anywhere, any time. It’s an optimistic, practical take on modern education that I am hopeful will inspire people to keep learning throughout their lives.
The second book is a travel guide that will lead readers in the footsteps of great men and women who have built our world, and can help us better understand the meaning of life and the ingredients of a life well lived.
Think: Ryan Holiday, Donald Robertson, or Jordan Petersen, each who has popularized ancient thinkers for modern readers.
Do you have any advice you could share for hopeful writers eager to become published authors?
Don’t give up! It can be a hard road, but you have to let the work—the love of the creative process—be its own reward and a measure of your success, not external accolades.
Can you finish this sentence? I love reading because...
I love reading because reading opens us up to new worlds, perspectives, and modes of being. Socrates has a great line that says that we should read books because we can, in a single sitting, imbibe what someone has worked on and thought out for a lifetime…a beautiful thought!