Creative Mornings, a non-profit with an emphasis on empowering local creative communities, will mark the launch of the Austin chapter of its breakfast lecture series with speaker Austin Kleon, a local Austinite and bestselling author on Apr. 5.

Creative Mornings is a series of inspirational talks where speakers with a background in creative fields work to inspire and spur conversation. The events take place once a month on Friday mornings, while attendees enjoy a complimentary breakfast. A short speech is performed that leads into a time for open conversation.

Kleon will speak at the popular Austin restaurant Frank. When the free tickets went up for the event, it took a mere eight hours for all of them to be snatched up, with over 60 people registered to attend. While Kleon is a much-respected creative figure with his popular book “Steal Like an Artist”and his acclaimed poetry collection “Newspaper Blackout,” it is also his place of residence that really interests the Austin Creative Mornings team.

“We want all the speakers to be from Austin or have some connection to Austin,” Ben Thoma, one of the three directors behind bringing the Creative Mornings experience to Austin, said. Thoma, along with his co-founders Brian Thompson and Erik Proulx, wish to showcase what Creative Mornings has to offer that is different from the many other lecture organizations that blow through Austin.

“It is more about a focus here in town and what this town has to offer,” Thoma said. “We are all living here, we are all staying here. It is something that does not just become a one-off.”

If pushed for time, they are open to inviting guest speakers from other locations, but Thoma is not worried much about that.

“Right now I don’t see a problem filling the quota with Austinites,” said Thoma.

Creative Mornings offers a sustaining form of conversation that can help bridge the gap between not only other creative people but local businesses as well, such as its first sponsor, Volusion, an Austin-based business that helps companies create and manage an online store.

“It is a great way for these companies to get involved in the Austin community and support something they believe in, but also it is a great resource for people in Austin to discover great companies they may not have heard of,” Thompson said.

Creative Mornings began in 2009 in New York City when its founder, Tina Roth Eisenberg, decided to go on a year-long sabbatical from her work running a design studio. The series has since taken off and now consists of 49 chapters located across the globe, all with their own speakers but united by a common monthly theme.  

Eisenberg was asked to give a keynote speech in Austin during the SXSW festival, during which she gave a sneak peek at the yet-to-be-released overhaul to the Creative Mornings website that was funded by donations from fans.

This global aspect to Creative Mornings is not something that the Austin organizers have overlooked, despite their focus on local benefits.

“There are people all around the world now that love and are inspired by Creative Mornings,” Thompson said. “To give local Austin creative people a platform to share their work and what they believe with not only other creative people in Austin, but to feel that ripple out to other creative communities around the world, is really powerful.”

Although the first event has sold out quickly, there will be plenty more like it to come. Information about the upcoming events can best be obtained through the Austin chapter’s twitter (@CM_Austin) as well as through their mailing list.

“There is not a day that goes by where I don’t get an e-mail from someone that either is offering to volunteer or is just giving us a shout-out for starting it,” Thoma said. “We did it for the city, and we hope the city and community can be proud of it and find it to be very worthwhile.”