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Episode 414: John Rosengren on Cuts, Note Taking, and Darkness for The Atavist

Photo credit: Scott Streble

It’s that Atavistian time of the month and, boy, is “Anatomy of a Murder” a dark one. Brilliant, but bleak.

John Rosengren is the reporter behind this gripping story of how a vigilante murder divided a town. The story couldn’t be in better hands than John’s.

He is the author of twelve books including The Greatest Summer in Baseball History, Hammerin’ Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid, as well as the novel A Clean Heart.

Episode 413: Young Woman and the Sea, from Book to Movie

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By Brendan O’Meara

Always a treat with the one and only Glenn Stout visits the show be it to talk about new books he’s written or, in this case, to celebrate the cinematic release of Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World (Mariner Books).

Of the many books I’ve read of Glenn’s, this one’s my favorite and it, at long last, is in movie theaters starring Daisy Ridley.

In this episode, we talk about the journey of how this book came to be adapted, the hiccups along the way, how serendipity played a role in the adaptation, and a lot more book-writing stuff you’ll love to hear about.

Episode 412: Leaving the Emotional Moments Unsaid with Lilly Dancyger

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By Brendan O’Meara

As you know, we love repeat guests on the show, and Lilly Dancyger (@lillydancyger) fit the bill with her new book First Love: Essays on Friendship (Dial Press). This is right up there for a CNFy award, my non-existent gala for the best I’ve experienced in creative nonfiction. Maybe the perfect Galentine’s Day gift.

Lilly’s collection, at least to me, doesn’t feel essay-ish. It’s prismatic, but it feels united, these essays about her girlfriends dating all the way back to her first best friend, her first love, her cousin Sabina.

Lilly also is the author of Negative Space and the editor of Burn it Down. She’s the nonfiction acquisitions editor for Barrelhouse Books and a teacher at Columbia University School of Arts. She also does freelance editor, mainly in the memoir/essay realm.

Episode 411: The Heart Part and Big Dreams with Isa Adney

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By Brendan O’Meara

Pretty rad guest here in Isa Adney (@isaadney). She has been a long-time listener of the show and wouldn’t you know she released a killer little book called The Little Book of Big Dreams: True Stories About People Who Followed a Spark (She Writes Press).

The book is a series of thematic profiles about courageous creators who followed their dreams. Isa interviewed more than 100 people for the book, but only a couple dozen made the cut. The book was a nine-year journey for her and a dream come true in and of itself.

Isa is a writer and documentary producer and is a person who takes agency in her creative work, profiling people for her blog as a means to show she has the chops. As Seth Godin says, if you want to be a marketer, do marketing.

Episode 410: Brian Fairbanks and “The Last Shall be First”

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By Brendan O’Meara

Brian Fairbanks is a freelance journalist and author and he is featured in The Atavist Magazine for his piece “The Last Shall be First” about a corrupt New Orleans cop and wreckage he left in his wake.

It’s a wild story and calls into question the structures that are supposed to keep citizens safe, as if we needed any more questioning. History repeats, so what do we do with that?

In this episode, we also hear from editor-in-chief Seyward Darby about the 150th issue of The Atavist, which is crazy, right?

Episode 409: Chain Smoking Book Projects with Earl Swift

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By Brendan O’Meara

Earl Swift is our guest for Ep. 409. He is the author of more books than you have fingers including The Big Roads, Chesapeake Requiem, Across the Airless Wilds, and his most recent book Hell Put to Shame: The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America’s Second Slavery. It’s published by Mariner Books.

Just when you think this country couldn’t find a way to let you down, well, just give it some time. In the spirt of David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon, Earl found a troubling story in its wicked cruelty, of a farmer, John S. Williams, who murdered 11 Black laborers rather than face charges for peonage. Earl expands on what this is in the book and in this conversation.

It got me thinking about the hidden histories of this country, atrocities and tragedies buried by the past. And it’s the serendipity of finding reference to these stories — research by catch — that people Earl can then expand and illuminate. Man, what a book.

Episode 408: North to Trees, South to Gold with Ruby McConnell

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By Brendan O’Meara

Well, isn’t a treat to hear from Ruby McConnell again? She’ got a new book out, this spring of 2024, Wilderness and the American Spirit (Overcup Books). It’s a book steeped in Oregon lore, but in that Oregonian-ness lies the universal of what the United States has inflicted upon the land, its Native peoples, and how the Applegate Road is the thread that connects seemingly disparate topics.

Ruby, @rubygonewild, also is the author of Ground Truth and A Woman’s Guide to the Wild. Ruby is one of the good ones, dude.

She’s a working writer with multiple projects going, small presses, big presses, freelance, teaching, organizing. She’s a buoyant spirit and always a treasure to have on these here airwaves.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Why You Shouldn’t Ask Your Partner to Read Your Sh*t

By Brendan O’Meara

Many a writer does not want to pay for an educated and objective opinion of their work. It’s expensive (thousands of dollars to developmentally edit a quality book that’s not guaranteed to be published). So what happens? You often ask your partner to read your shit.

This is my plea: Don’t bring your partner into your shit. It’s unfair to them.

It puts them in the uncomfortable position of letting you down. Feedback on the work is damn near impossible not to take personally … no matter how many times we recite the mantra They’re not criticizing me, they’re criticizing the work.

Episode 407: Alex Squadron Respects the Grind

By Brendan O’Meara

Ever want to know the ins and outs, the hopes and dreams, of a minor league basketball player? Alex Squadron (@asquad510), a sports writer for Slam Magazine, brings that insight to his debut book Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA. It’s published by University of Nebraska Press.

Alex follows a cohort of players for the Birmingham Squadron … total coincidence. He had tremendous access to this team and these players, something you categorically never see at the higher levels of sport.