The Last Confessions of Sylvia P.

The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. imaginatively brings into focus the period of promise and tragedy that marked the writing of Sylvia Plath’s modern classic The Bell Jar. Bridging fact and fiction, this novel imagines the life of a revered writer. Suspenseful and beautifully written with a remarkable prismatic approach, Kravetz’s masterful novel is a highly seductive work of literary fiction.

Erin Byrne’s conversation with Lee will explore the possibility that The Bell Jar was more than a novel of a young poet struggling with mental illness, but the key to unlocking the origins of a radical literary revolution. We will highlight the ways in which our mental state impacts the creative process, Lee’s blending of genres, and ways we can all weave together our own fascinations to create powerful works.

Lee Kravetz is the author the novel The Last Confessions of Sylvia P. and the international bestsellers Strange Contagion (about the science of contagious thoughts, feelings and emotions) and SuperSurvivors: The Surprising Link Between Suffering & Success (a look at how people bounce forward after experiencing life-changing trauma.) He holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri – Columbia, and a M.A. in psychology from Santa Clara University and a post-graduate fellowship from Stanford University.

Lee has written for print and television, including The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, Psychology Today, The Daily Beast, The San Francisco Chronicle, and PBS’s Frontline and Sesame Street. His work has been translated into ten languages. He has been featured in Time Magazine, The Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company, and is a founding board member of the Lit Camp Writers Conference. www.leekravetz.com

Erin Byrne is the author of Wings: Gifts of Art, Life, and Travel in France, editor of Vignettes & Postcards from Paris and Vignettes & Postcards from Morocco, and writer of The Storykeeper film. She is the recipient of a 2021-22 Lowell Thomas Award from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, and the 2020 Grand Prize Solas Award for Travel Story of the Year. Her books, travel essays, poetry, fiction and screenplays have won other awards including the Foreword Indies Book of the Year; an Accolade Award for film; and the Pinnacle Achievement Award.

Erin has taught writing at Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, The American Library in Paris, Book Passage bookstore, and on Deep Travel trips around the globe; is host of LitWings event series featuring writers, photographers and filmmakers; and is travel writing and photography curator for The Creative Process Exhibition, which travels to the world’s leading universities and conferences. www.erinbyrnewriter.com.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Mechanics' Institute, 57 Post Street, San Francisco, United States