Kelly Williams Brown (born August 6, 1984, in Covington,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

) is a New York Times-bestselling

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

writer and author. She is commonly credited with inventing the word "

adulting Adulting is a neologism for wikt:growing up, growing up that became popular on English-speaking social media in the second half of the 2010s. American writer Kelly Williams Brown has been credited with coining the term. The term is commonly used t ...

", which refers to the small actions that together comprise maturity.

Education and career

She graduated from

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name o ...

with a degree in print journalism, then worked as a features writer and columnist for the

Hattiesburg American The ''Hattiesburg American'' is a U.S. newspaper based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, that serves readers in Forrest, Lamar, and surrounding counties in south-central Mississippi. The newspaper is owned by Gannett. History The ''Hattiesburg ...

in Hattiesburg, Mississippi;

New Orleans CityBusiness New Orleans CityBusiness is a weekly business newspaper headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana, United States. Launched in 1980, CityBusiness covers the metropolitan New Orleans area, including the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. New Orleans ...

and the Salem, Ore.

Statesman Journal The ''Statesman Journal'' is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851 as the ''Oregon Statesman'', it later merged with the ''Capital Journal'' to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Orego ...

. Her first book, "Adulting: How to Become A Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps", published in 2013 by

Grand Central Publishing Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachett ...

, was a New York Times-bestseller and developed into a sitcom with JJ Abrams'

Bad Robot Bad Robot is an American film and television production company founded on May 27, 1999 and led by J. J. Abrams and Katie McGrath as Co-CEO. Under its Bad Robot Productions division, the company is responsible for the television series ''Alias'' ...

. After the option was picked up by

Pacific Standard ''Pacific Standard'' was an American online magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years until production of the print edition cease ...

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she ...

included it in her book club. Her second book, ''Gracious: A Practical Primer on the Art of Charm, Tact and Unsinkable Strength'' was published in 2017 by

Rodale Books The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded into ...

References

American newspaper journalists American columnists 1984 births Living people American women non-fiction writers American women columnists 21st-century American women 21st-century American journalists {{US-journalist-1980s-stub