Karen Quinn
In 2000, Karen Quinn was downsized from an executive job at a major corporation after fifteen years. She had no idea what to do next, but finally decided to start a business, something she had always dreamed about. With no experience, she founded Smart City Kids, a company devoted to helping New York parents get their children into the city’s best private schools. Her services were soon in great demand and she appeared on, 20/20, in the New York Times and Forbes Magazine as an expert in school admissions. Then one day, a client in Pull-ups insisted that Quinn stop making her cram for her kindergarten admissions test. “Can’t you see I’m only four?” She implored. Quinn sold the business soon after.
Unemployed again, Quinn decided to try to write that novel she had secretly dreamed about. There was just one problem. She had no experience writing anything besides her annual holiday letter. She decided that if she didn’t try to make her fantasy come true now, she probably never would, so she went for it. In three months, she had a draft of The Ivy Chronicles, the story of Ivy Ames, a woman who loses her job and decides to become an advisor to rich Manhattanites, helping them get their little darlings into the crème de la crème of private schools.
After completing her manuscript, Quinn’s road to getting published was serendipitous. Her babysitter knew an agent, and even though the agent wasn't taking new clients, she fell in love with the book and took it on. Soon after, the woman sitting next to her at a track meet in Paris, France turned out to be the editor of The Devil Wears Prada. Quinn gave the editor the manuscript. The editor loved it, wanted to publish it, and started a bidding war between four major publishers. Soon there was a two-book international deal and a movie sale to Warner Brothers with Catherine Zeta Jones to play Ivy. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
Quinn’s second book, Wife in the Fast Lane, picked up where Ivy left off. It’s about the misadventures of Christy Hayes, a successful Manhattan power wife who learns that having it all and doing it all are two entirely different things.
Her third book, Holly Would Dream, was inspired by her love of 1950’s classic romantic comedies. It is about Holly Ross, whose obsession with Audrey Hepburn will either turn out to be her curse or her saving grace.
At the podium, Quinn will have you laughing out loud at the rich and powerful Uptown warriors who would stop at nothing to have their well-heeled spawn land a coveted spot at the city’s fanciest schools. She will have you nodding in recognition as she talks about juggling a life so fast that when Jet Blue left her plane sitting on the tarmac for eleven hours, she wrote the President of the company a thank you note for giving her some sorely needed “alone” time. You will be inspired by Quinn’s own story as she shares insights about reinvention and her belief that now, more than ever, we must all learn how to find new identities for ourselves as we experience the inevitable changes life delivers. She reveals what she learned when creating her own new life and offers practical advice on how you can turn your own dreams into reality.
Quinn, who considers herself a wife in the fast lane, grew up in Texas and Colorado. She has two teenagers, a husband, a full-time writing career, three cats and a fax machine that has been broken for years. She hopes to get it fixed someday. It’s on the list.
MOST REQUESTED TOPICS:
Only in Manhattan: Funny Stories about Parents, Private school, Power couples and Privilege
How far would you go to get your child into a top-notch kindergarten? For New Yorkers, the answer could well be: 'I hired an actor to pretend to be my husband, so we'd look like a traditional family for the interviews. Then when my daughter got into the school, I arranged a fake divorce.'
Welcome to elite Manhattan schools, where four-year-olds have resumes, attempts to buy your way in (in the guise of donations) are the norm and at least ten children vie for every single spot. In this talk, Karen shares some of the craziest experiences she had as owner of Smart City Kids, a New York City consulting firm that helped parents get their children into the city’s top schools.
Quinn will tell the unlikely story how her first book, The Ivy Chronicles, was published and the movie rights sold with the help of the most powerful force in New York City – the nanny network. She’ll take you inside the ultra-rich world of the Manhattan Power Wife, the privileged world that inspired her second book, Wife in the Fast Lane. Hint: it’s not as pretty as it looks in the society pages.
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be glad you don’t live in Manhattan.
Reinventing Yourself - How to Make Your Dream Life RealIn 2000, Karen Quinn was downsized after fifteen years as a senior vice president in a global corporation. Instead of going for a similar job at another company, she decided to start a small educational consulting business helping families get their children into the Manhattan’s best private schools (even though she didn’t have the right training or experience). Three years later, she sold the business and decided to become a fiction writer (even though she didn’t have the right training or experience). Quinn’s first book was purchased in a four-way bidding war, became an international best seller, and is currently being made into a movie. She is now working on her fourth book.
In this talk, she shares the funny and motivating story of just how she did it, how you can make your own dream real, and the ten laws of reinvention that apply to everyone.
1. You must decide to change.
2. Do what makes your heart sing.
3. Think bestselling, blockbuster, big-time.
4. Not knowing what you’re doing is no excuse.
5. Get off your butt and make it happen.
6. Setbacks happen.
7. Fake your way to success.
8. Help will come from where you least expect it.
9. Failure is an option.
10. Believe it is possible.
Prepare to laugh, cry, and be inspired!
You’re Lucky Your Life is Funny
For years, author Karen Quinn sent out one of those annual Christmas letter lamenting the travails of raising a family in Manhattan. There were tales of a daughter killing the class guinea pig, a cat jumping out the high rise window, a son who leapt on to a Broadway stage – Friends and family insisted it was the funniest thing they’d ever read. Perhaps everyone was lying, but Karen believed them and decided, “If I can write a holiday letter, I can write a novel. That’s just what she did. Not only was her first book a bestseller, it is being turned into a movie by Warner Brothers.
In this talk, Karen tells the real life stories behind the fictional world about which she writes. She talks about what it was like to own a private school admissions business, working with the ultra-demanding clients that inspired The Ivy Chronicles. She’ll take you inside the uber-rich life of the Manhattan Power Wife, the privileged world that inspired her second book, Wife in the Fast Lane. She’ll share stories of hanky panky and rich people behaving badly on the world’s most luxurious cruise ships, the inspiration for Holly Would Dream.
Karen will help you see that humor is everywhere – in her life and in your life. After this, you may find yourself writing your own life inspired comedy.
In 2000, Karen Quinn was downsized from an executive job at a major corporation after fifteen years. She had no idea what to do next, but finally decided to start a business, something she had always dreamed about. With no experience, she founded Smart City Kids, a company devoted to helping New York parents get their children into the city’s best private schools. Her services were soon in great demand and she appeared on, 20/20, in the New York Times and Forbes Magazine as an expert in school admissions. Then one day, a client in Pull-ups insisted that Quinn stop making her cram for her kindergarten admissions test. “Can’t you see I’m only four?” She implored. Quinn sold the business soon after.
Unemployed again, Quinn decided to try to write that novel she had secretly dreamed about. There was just one problem. She had no experience writing anything besides her annual holiday letter. She decided that if she didn’t try to make her fantasy come true now, she probably never would, so she went for it. In three months, she had a draft of The Ivy Chronicles, the story of Ivy Ames, a woman who loses her job and decides to become an advisor to rich Manhattanites, helping them get their little darlings into the crème de la crème of private schools.
After completing her manuscript, Quinn’s road to getting published was serendipitous. Her babysitter knew an agent, and even though the agent wasn't taking new clients, she fell in love with the book and took it on. Soon after, the woman sitting next to her at a track meet in Paris, France turned out to be the editor of The Devil Wears Prada. Quinn gave the editor the manuscript. The editor loved it, wanted to publish it, and started a bidding war between four major publishers. Soon there was a two-book international deal and a movie sale to Warner Brothers with Catherine Zeta Jones to play Ivy. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
Quinn’s second book, Wife in the Fast Lane, picked up where Ivy left off. It’s about the misadventures of Christy Hayes, a successful Manhattan power wife who learns that having it all and doing it all are two entirely different things.
Her third book, Holly Would Dream, was inspired by her love of 1950’s classic romantic comedies. It is about Holly Ross, whose obsession with Audrey Hepburn will either turn out to be her curse or her saving grace.
At the podium, Quinn will have you laughing out loud at the rich and powerful Uptown warriors who would stop at nothing to have their well-heeled spawn land a coveted spot at the city’s fanciest schools. She will have you nodding in recognition as she talks about juggling a life so fast that when Jet Blue left her plane sitting on the tarmac for eleven hours, she wrote the President of the company a thank you note for giving her some sorely needed “alone” time. You will be inspired by Quinn’s own story as she shares insights about reinvention and her belief that now, more than ever, we must all learn how to find new identities for ourselves as we experience the inevitable changes life delivers. She reveals what she learned when creating her own new life and offers practical advice on how you can turn your own dreams into reality.
Quinn, who considers herself a wife in the fast lane, grew up in Texas and Colorado. She has two teenagers, a husband, a full-time writing career, three cats and a fax machine that has been broken for years. She hopes to get it fixed someday. It’s on the list.
MOST REQUESTED TOPICS:
Only in Manhattan: Funny Stories about Parents, Private school, Power couples and Privilege
How far would you go to get your child into a top-notch kindergarten? For New Yorkers, the answer could well be: 'I hired an actor to pretend to be my husband, so we'd look like a traditional family for the interviews. Then when my daughter got into the school, I arranged a fake divorce.'
Welcome to elite Manhattan schools, where four-year-olds have resumes, attempts to buy your way in (in the guise of donations) are the norm and at least ten children vie for every single spot. In this talk, Karen shares some of the craziest experiences she had as owner of Smart City Kids, a New York City consulting firm that helped parents get their children into the city’s top schools.
Quinn will tell the unlikely story how her first book, The Ivy Chronicles, was published and the movie rights sold with the help of the most powerful force in New York City – the nanny network. She’ll take you inside the ultra-rich world of the Manhattan Power Wife, the privileged world that inspired her second book, Wife in the Fast Lane. Hint: it’s not as pretty as it looks in the society pages.
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be glad you don’t live in Manhattan.
Reinventing Yourself - How to Make Your Dream Life RealIn 2000, Karen Quinn was downsized after fifteen years as a senior vice president in a global corporation. Instead of going for a similar job at another company, she decided to start a small educational consulting business helping families get their children into the Manhattan’s best private schools (even though she didn’t have the right training or experience). Three years later, she sold the business and decided to become a fiction writer (even though she didn’t have the right training or experience). Quinn’s first book was purchased in a four-way bidding war, became an international best seller, and is currently being made into a movie. She is now working on her fourth book.
In this talk, she shares the funny and motivating story of just how she did it, how you can make your own dream real, and the ten laws of reinvention that apply to everyone.
1. You must decide to change.
2. Do what makes your heart sing.
3. Think bestselling, blockbuster, big-time.
4. Not knowing what you’re doing is no excuse.
5. Get off your butt and make it happen.
6. Setbacks happen.
7. Fake your way to success.
8. Help will come from where you least expect it.
9. Failure is an option.
10. Believe it is possible.
Prepare to laugh, cry, and be inspired!
You’re Lucky Your Life is Funny
For years, author Karen Quinn sent out one of those annual Christmas letter lamenting the travails of raising a family in Manhattan. There were tales of a daughter killing the class guinea pig, a cat jumping out the high rise window, a son who leapt on to a Broadway stage – Friends and family insisted it was the funniest thing they’d ever read. Perhaps everyone was lying, but Karen believed them and decided, “If I can write a holiday letter, I can write a novel. That’s just what she did. Not only was her first book a bestseller, it is being turned into a movie by Warner Brothers.
In this talk, Karen tells the real life stories behind the fictional world about which she writes. She talks about what it was like to own a private school admissions business, working with the ultra-demanding clients that inspired The Ivy Chronicles. She’ll take you inside the uber-rich life of the Manhattan Power Wife, the privileged world that inspired her second book, Wife in the Fast Lane. She’ll share stories of hanky panky and rich people behaving badly on the world’s most luxurious cruise ships, the inspiration for Holly Would Dream.
Karen will help you see that humor is everywhere – in her life and in your life. After this, you may find yourself writing your own life inspired comedy.
