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Episode 378: Steven Moore

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I feel like I don’t understand an essay until I’ve ready it a few times.
Steve Moore, Ep. 378

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By Brendan O’Meara

Look who came back! It’s Steven Moore! He’s the author of The Distance from Slaughter County: Lessons from Flyover Country (UNC Press). Growing up in Iowa and spending the last several years on the west coast — many in Oregon — Steven toggles between when it meant to grow up in the midwest and the view from afar.

His essays range from riffs on the sitcom “Home Improvement,” Blockbuster Video, Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, and political coverage of a state that had voted for Obama, then flipped, you know, the other way.

Steven also is the author of The Longer We Were There: A Memoir of a Part-Time Soldier, which won the AWP Award for Creative Nonfiction.

In this episode we talk about:

Audio Magazine Issue 3: Heroes

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By Brendan O’Meara

That took a long time, didn’t it? At long last, Issue 3 of the audio magazine is here on the theme HEROES!

Big ups to our contributors who made the issue to those who submitted who didn’t make it into the final product.

Here’s a little bit of information from each of the writers:

Episode 344: Rachel Dickinson

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By Brendan O’Meara

Rachel Dickison is here to talk about her new book The Loneliest Places: Loss, Grief, and the Long Journey Home. It’s is published by Three Hills Press.

No way to sugar coat what this book deals with: Rachel’s son Jack died by suicide in 2012. He was 17. And this book stays within the boundaries of Rachel’s experience, her headspace, her grief.

Yes, her three daughters and her husband were deeply affected by this tragedy, but you won’t hear from them much, not really until the end of the book where Rachel interrogates her selfishness and withdrawal and, in some cases, abandonment. It would be easy to judge Rachel in this book, even her editor wondered how “likeable” she was as a character and that speaks to how honest Rachel was about her processing of this unthinkable experience.

This is something I’ve never done before, but I think it should be brought up, as I have heard other podcasts do this. If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts and may harm themselves, call or text 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. This will route people to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline where they can speak with a trained counselor.

Episode 321: Ruby McConnell

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By Brendan O’Meara

Well, well, well, look who came back to the podcast for her third time: It’s Ruby McConnell (@rubygonewild)!

She’s the author of the wonderful collection Ground Truth: A Geological Survey of a Life, as well as the author of A Woman’s Guide to the Wild. Past episodes with Ruby can be found here and here.

We had a nice conversation about juggling projects, when writing becomes a slog, style, ambition, and patience. If you’re a little frustrated, you’re going to enjoy this conversation.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS is CLOSED for Issue 4 of the Audio Magazine: CODES

photo “courtesy” of CNN.com

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This is the way.

The Mandalorian and his kind live by a simple code, always punctuated by saying “This is the way.”

What codes do you live by? What codes were you at one time or another TOLD to live by? Do you admire codes and singular devotion, or do you feel unfairly shackled to a way of life? Has a code led you to the right path or down the wrong? Capt. Fantastic (“Power to the people. Stick it to the man.”) lived by a code, but it put his several children at odds with the world and nearly paralyzed one child.

Essays should be no longer than 2,000 words (a 15-minute read, bear in mind that, in the end, these are audio essays. Write accordingly.). Email submissions with CODE in the subject line to creativenonfictionpodcast at gmail dot com. Original, previously unpublished work only, please.

There is cash on the line, so send me your best, fully formed pieces and consider becoming a patron to help put money in the coffers that helps put money in the pockets of writers.

DEADLINE: ~~Oct. 31, 2022.~~ CLOSED!

Simultaneous submissions are fine, but if your piece is accepted elsewhere or you’re holding out for a more “prestigious” publication, please let me know ASAP as I read these essays very closely and even give rejected essays detailed notes for improvement.

This is the way.

Episode 300: Gloria Liu

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Sponsor love: West Virginia Wesleyan College’s MFA in Creative Writing

By Brendan O’Meara

Gloria Liu (@thats_my_line) is a freelance writer/journalist based out of Colorado.

She’s a former features editor for Outside Magazine, and it was a reported essay she wrote for outside about burnout and the meaning of life that prompted this conversation. Can’t find a link to that story, but her piece on garages is awesome, as is this piece on money, as well as the housing crisis in a ski town.

We chat about her journey in freelancing. She’s on her second rodeo with freelancing, after a stint as features editor for Outside. Her background is in finance and business, so we dig into some lessons she learned from that that help her in freelancing.

Episode 286: Jen Winston on Essay Collection as Memoir

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Sponsor love: West Virginia Wesleyan College’s MFA in Creative Writing

By Brendan O’Meara

This was a treat, getting to speak with Jen Winston, the debut author behind Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much (Atria).

In this episode we talk about:

Episode 241: Carolyn Holbrook and the Indispensable Nature of Writing and Teaching

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By Brendan O’Meara

“I do a lot of encouraging people to journal and to just write it out, sing it out, dance it out, whatever you need to do,” says Carolyn Holbrook, author of Tell Me Your Names and I Will Testify: Essays (University of Minnesota Press).

Audio Magazine Issue No. 1: Isolation

By Brendan O’Meara

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It’s been a long time coming, but, at long last, here is the inaugural Creative Nonfiction Podcast Audio Magazine!

The essays take you to edges of isolation and what that means to these five brilliant contributors.

I’m very proud of this, and I’m thrilled to keep improving the product and developing it.

As you know, this is the show where I usually speak to badass writers about the art and craft of telling true stories. So it’s my esteemed pleasure to bring you true stories on the feed.

Now, this inaugural issue will forever be free for all, but subsequent issues will only be available for members in the Patreon community. The first tier grants you exclusive access to the 2021 audio mag, which I hope will publish around June/July. The new theme and submission guidelines are at the end of this audio mag. Very exciting!

You’ll want to keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and let me know what you think of this exciting enterprise.

Episode 156: Sonya Huber—Creative Infidelities

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By Brendan O’Meara

“I think that’s why people stop writing: the not knowing what you’re doing feels so terrible.” —Sonya Huber (@sonyahuber)

Hey…hey, you, how are you?

Sonya Huber is here. She’s the author of these five books:

Pain Woman Takes Your Keys and Other Essays from a Nervous System
Opa Nobody
Cover Me: A Health Insurance Memoir
The “Backwards” Research Guide for Writers
The Evolution of Hillary Rodham Clinton

Be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you get our podcasts. If you leave a review of the show, I’ll coach up a piece of your writing of up to 2,000 words. Write the review, take a screenshot when it posts, email me the screenshot, and I’ll reach back out and get going.

Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod or Facebook or Instagram.

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