This Week in Speechwriting

• Speechwriter runs for Congress. Former Kathy Sebelius speechwriter Abbie Hodgson is running as a Democrat in Kansas’ 2ndcongressional district, which includes Lawrence, Topeka and Leavenworth. “I have always been someone who has been behind the scenes,” she told theKansas City Star. “Running for Congress wasn’t in my life plan.” (Hodgson did run unsuccessfully for a seat in the Kansas House in 2014.)

• CEOs remembered for speaking their way to the top—you can count them on your fingers, and one of them died last week. Ambitious exec comms pros might peruse “At the Podium: The Speeches of Lee Iacocca, 1978-2011.” Original speech manuscripts, with handwritten edits.

• French speechwriters have organized themselves into La Guilde de Plumes, and held their first conference last month. Here’s a brief account by European Speechwriter Network founder Brian Jenner, who helped the group get organized.

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