Margaret Shepherd

Margaret Shepherd is a writer, calligrapher, and teacher. In addition to "The Art of the Handwritten Note," she has written thirteen books on calligraphy, including the top selling "Learn Calligraphy" now a classic in the field.

She has lectured at MIT's 'charm school' about the importance of handwritten notes, and at many, many colleges and interest groups about the basics of calligraphy. She has given workshops all over the world, from Uzbekistan to Hanoi to Helsinki. She lives in Boston.

Calligraphy fans can visit her blog for free printouts: practice guidelines; a cat calligraphy design; and her new "An Abecedary to Color" that offers a collection of six capital letters every week. She also posted a new calligraphy alphabet every day there for a year.

Margaret considers beginners the most important members of the calligraphy community, and aims to inspire, encourage, and challenge them. Thousands of readers feel they know her as though they have sat in her classes. Almost all of her books are written by hand in her calligraphy, and liberally illustrated with a wealth of drawings, diagrams, guidelines, and sample projects.