I'm a writer, reader, listener and speaker.

Kyra Maya Phillips is the co-author of The Misfit Economy (out now with Simon & Schuster), a  bestselling book which chronicles stories of creativity from informal and dark markets around the globe. Research for this book has taken her to pirate prisons in Somalia, tunnels networks deep below the city of Paris, Amish camel farms, ganglands in Cape Town, and into the history books to study 18th century pirate ships.

Alongside The Misfit Economy, Kyra is a co-founder of The Point People, a collective of innovators, artists, and entrepreneurs committed to driving systemic change for a more equitable society.

She has written for and appeared in publications around the world, including BBC, NPR, The Economist, The Financial Times, TIME, Newsweek, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Wired, Forbes, Dazed and Confused, The Irish Times, Le Monde, and the Guardian.

Kyra has also consulted and spoken for various places, including 10 Downing Street, the UK Treasury, TED, the House of Commons, Google, The School of Life, the London School of Economics, Cambridge University, Central St. Martins, and the Barbican Centre. Since 2017, she has focused her public speaking efforts on interviewing other authors, conducting interviews with some of Australia’s most celebrated writers and gaining recognition as a deeply prepared, perceptive, and generous interviewer. Amongst those she has interviewed are Stephanie Bishop, author of the highly acclaimed “The Other Side of the World” and “Man Out of Time”; Princeton philosopher and bestselling author Eleanor Gordon-Smith; Alice Nelson, award-winning author of “The Children’s House” and “One Last Sky”; the popular historian Paul Ham; and Kristina Olsson, author of the highly acclaimed and commended novel, “Shell.”

In the past, Kyra worked as a journalist at the Guardian (a leading newspaper), as a consultant at SustainAbility (a think-tank and consultancy), and as a project manager at Business in the Community (a business-led charity).

Kyra loves reading. She curates Snail Mail, a slow monthly newsletter which only shares long-lasting, in-depth content. She also writes Marginalia, a monthly(ish) newsletter that focuses solely on sharing great book recommendations. She is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

She lives in Sydney with her husband and two sons.