Welcome to The Habit of Art by Kelcey Ervick, a handwritten & illustrated newsletter about reading, writing, and making art.

Here’s where I write and draw:

I’m Kelcey, and I’ve been writing for a lot of years. I got a PhD in it. I’m a professor of it. I’ve published multiple books of literary fiction and nonfiction. But several years ago, I started drawing every day, and it changed everything. How I look at the world, how I SEE the world, how I think, how I write, how I teach, how I draw. It also led to getting an agent and publisher for my graphic memoir, The Keeper.

The Habit of Art has been featured twice on Substack. My post A Woman Reading was cited in Substack Reads. Soon after, the site was featured on Substack Discover.

What to expect

I am passionate about writing and drawing these Substack posts, where you’ll get illustrated stories and new ways to think about writing and visual storytelling based on my work as an author, artist, and professor. New posts usually go out on Sundays.

Paid Subscribers

For those who want a bit more access or just want to back my work financially, you can upgrade to a paid subscription of $5 a month or $50 a year. I offer monthly zoom hangouts for paid subscribers as well as discounts on my classes and workshops.

You can also get occasional bonus material behind the paywall such as video chats and demos. I have even been known to send snail mail! I’ve put all materials and links for paid subscribers here.

About me

I’m Kelcey Ervick, the author of four award-winning books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently the graphic memoir, The Keeper (Avery/Penguin), which was featured in the The New York Times Book Review’s Holiday Gift Guide and which Publisher’s Weekly called a “work of disarming emotional power.” It’s about growing up in girls’ sports in the early years of Title IX, and figuring out how, if I can’t become Miss America, I might become a writer like my fellow goalkeeper Vladimir Nabokov.

Inspired by my shift toward visual storytelling, I co-edited The Field Guide to Graphic Literature, which is about how to make all kinds of comics, graphic poetry, and literary collage.

I live on the banks of the St. Joseph River in northern Indiana, where I am regularly attacked by geese and red-winged blackbirds. I’m a professor of creative writing at Indiana University South Bend, which also happens to be on the banks of the St. Joe River.

Author website: kelceyervick.com
Art sometimes on Instagram

p.s. In Sept 2025, I launched a second Substack: Letters to Dead Authors & Artists. It’s a community project and I’m open to pitches!