October 2020 – Home of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast

Episode 226: Edward Parnell’s In Search of a Haunted Country in ‘Ghostland’

Edward Parnell, the author of Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country (William Collins), comes by the show to talk about the new book, a book that is part travel log, culture log, and memoir.

It is a haunting read, a mournful read, so naturally I dug it.

You can find Edward @edward_parnell on Twitter.

We talk about our shared love of Kurt Vonnegut, keeping the fun in writing, his approach to take this book away from the traditional grief memoir path, and lots more.

Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and be sure to sign up for the monthly newsletter where I give out reading recommendation, podcast news, and writing tips. This month I plan to try something new: An exclusive Zoom link to have a little happy hour. First of the month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

Other Books by Edward Parnell

The Listeners

Episode 225: Amalia Andrade Dances with Her Fears

By Brendan O’Meara

What a pleasure to have Amalia Andrade (@amaliaandrade_ on Twitter) on the podcast to talk about her new book What You Think About When You Bit Your Nails: A Fear and Anxiety Workbook (Penguin Life).

She’s so damn cool and her style of drawing and writing is so fun and whimsical. I think you’re gonna dig her.

We talk about:

Her childhood growing up in Columbia
Fear and anxiety
Ira Glass and the creative gap (video below)
Developing along with her audience
And how drawing can alleviate your anxieties

Consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts so more CNFers like YOU will see it. Subscribe to my monthly newsletter where you’ll get great reading recommendations, be entered in raffles for books and maybe, just maybe, be invited to a Zoom Happy Hour on the first of the month, the day the newsletter goes out. You’ll have to subscribe, open the newsletter, and follow the link at the appropriate time.

Cheers!

This Newsletter Goes to 11!

Episode 224: Patrick Radden Keefe’s Atypical Path to Narrative Journalism, Writing Books and Making ‘Wind of Change’

View on Zencastr

By Brendan O’Meara

Is there anybody out there better than Patrick Radden Keefe? There are a few on his level, but I wouldn’t say anyone is better and here he is.

He says, “What can I leave out? And that point where I can start leaving things out becomes very liberating because then, in a way, the reporting continues, but it’s narrowing.”

He’s the author of three books (and a fourth coming out in 2021) and it’s his latest book, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland that was on everybody’s list, like, Barack Obama’s list. I’m just tickled I have the same initials as Obama.

Patrick also is the host of Wind of Change, the incredible podcast that tries to solve the mystery behind the Scorpions song “Wind of Change” and whether or not the CIA had a hand in writing it.

Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and consider leaving a kind review of the podcast so more people can find it, CNFers like you. It only takes a few minutes to tap away but will have a HUGE impact on the show.

Books by Patrick

Say Nothing
Snakehead An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld & the American Dream
Chatter: Uncovering The Echelon Surveillance Network And The Secret World Of Global Eavesdropping

Patrick’s Bookshelf for Apocalypse

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
Pnin by Nabokov
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Last Sumaruai by Helen Dewitt

Episode 223: ‘Why Are You Making it, and Who is it for?’ with Kristen Meinzer

By Brendan O’Meara

“I spend a lot of time thinking about promotion. This isn’t Field of Dreams,” says Kristen Meinzer, @kristenmeinzer on Twitter.

You might remember Kristen from her first soiree on the podcast a few months ago when she and Jolenta Greenberg came by to talk about the book they co-wrote, How to be Fine.

She’s back for a solo show to talk about her book So You Want to Start a Podcast: Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Story, and Building a Community that Will Listen (William Morrow, 2019).

I’m self-taught, been doing this thing for eight years, and I found so many incredible nuggets in this book. The thing is, it’s ostensibly about podcasting, but you can apply the principles to anything.

We talk about structure in writing and in podcasting, why are you starting a podcast and who is it for, pet peeves in podcasting, mistakes new producers make, promoting a show, and what exactly a producer does.

Good stuff.

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts, tell a friend, and consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Keep the conversation going on social media. It’s @CNFPod across Twitter, IG, and FB.

Kristen’s Bookshelf for the Apocalypse or Library for the End of the World (in pictures!)

Leave the show a voicemail and I’ll answer your question on the show!

Gotta get that monthly newsletter! Here’s a link to the archive. It only goes back to March 2019, but you’ll get the drift.

Episode 222: Catherine Grace Katz on One-Word Distillations, the Thrill of Research and ‘The Daughters of Yalta’

By Brendan O’Meara

Catherine Grace Katz, author of The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War, joins me to talk about her new book.

You can find her @Catherine_Katz on Twitter.

Catherine graduated from Harvard with a BA in history in 2013. She earned an MPhil in modern European history from Christ’s College at the University of Cambridge in 2014, and now is pursuing her JD at Harvard Law School.

You could say she was punching down in class coming by to speak with me.

She joins the ranks of several historians who have been on the show like Laura Hillenbrand, Bob Batchelor, and James Carl Nelson, to name a few.

We talk about her upbringing in Chicago and how stories were such an early part of her life, her dissertation on modern counterintelligence, research, and her Bookshelf for the Apocalypse. All great stuff.

Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod across the Big Three and consider leaving the show a kind review on Apple Podcasts. Drop me a line if you have questions, want me to work with you on your book or essay, or you just want to say hello.

Catherine’s Bookshelf for the Apocalypse

A Gentleman in Moscow
Emma
Anne Green Gables
The Martian
To Kill a Mockingbird
In Command of History

Brendan does not get a kickback for any book sales via affiliate links. This is why he fails.

Month: October 2020

Episode 226: Edward Parnell’s In Search of a Haunted Country in ‘Ghostland’

Other Books by Edward Parnell

Episode 225: Amalia Andrade Dances with Her Fears

This Newsletter Goes to 11!