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CREATIVITY’S EDGE: Unleashing Humanity’s Greatest Advantage in the Age of AI
by Susan M. Riley

CREATIVITY’S EDGE: Unleashing Humanity’s Greatest Advantage in the Age of AI by Susan M. Riley

Bloomsbury Academic - February 2026

* Author is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM, the world’s largest online resource for educators interested in integrating the arts

Tagline: A practical guide to building the creative skills that make us irreplaceable—even as AI takes over everything else. This new book from Susan Riley is for educators, parents, and anyone who refuses to be replaced by an algorithm.

About CREATIVITY’S EDGE: In an AI world that can write, code, and design, what’s left for humans? Everything that matters.

The world is changing fast. Are you ready for what’s next? Technical skills alone won’t keep you ahead anymore. Creativity has now become the dividing line between those who will lead the future and those who will be automated out of it.

This book shows you how to build the creative abilities AI can’t touch: finding problems worth solving, linking ideas in new ways, and infusing work with meaning that only humans understand. These aren’t vague ideas—they’re real skills you can start building today.

Inside, you’ll discover how your brain changes during creative work and learn to trigger the mental states where your best thinking happens. You’ll master a simple system that turns you from someone waiting for inspiration into someone who creates it on demand. And you’ll break free from systems designed to standardize rather than innovate, unlocking the irreplaceable human potential that defines our future.

Whether you’re an educator preparing students for tomorrow or a professional building your competitive edge, this book is your roadmap to thriving in the age of AI.

About the author: Susan Riley is an internationally recognized educator, author, and founder of the Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM—the world’s largest online professional development provider for teachers and leaders using arts-integrated approaches. She has spoken at the United States Department of Education, National Public Radio, and Americans for the Arts, and her articles have been featured in numerous publications worldwide. Susan’s email digest reaches over 75,000 subscribers each month, her website reaches over 250,000 visitors monthly, and her social media accounts (Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn) reach a combined 58,000 subscribers and growing. www.susanmriley.com

Praise for CREATIVITY’S EDGE:

“My first reaction to Creativity’s Edge, was, WOW! This is one heck of a great book! Susan’s welcoming writing style, storytelling, and hands-on examples provide readers with a wonderful entry point to creativity and arts-based project learning in the context of a rapidly changing educational landscape. Her attention to human capacity, equity, critical thinking, and surprise are inspirational. I learned a lot about the potential of AI with arts, learning, and assessment. Susan also included one of my all-time heroes, the petite nun artist turned activist, Sister Corita Kent, who inspired so many students with her understanding of creativity as a practice and as a call to action. Wonderful book for all educators.” –Merryl Goldberg, professor, California State University, San Marcos, author of Arts Integration: Teaching Subject Matter through the Arts in Multicultural Settings

“This book makes an urgent and inspiring case for why creativity must be at the heart of how we learn, work, and live. It’s a clear and necessary guide for anyone committed to unlocking human potential in an age of rapid change.” – Susan Magsamen, Director International Arts + Mind Lab, Johns Hopkins University