podcast – Page 17 – Home of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast

Episode 281: Susan Orlean Tackles Ledes, Generating Story Ideas, and ‘On Animals’

By Brendan O’Meara

Susan Orlean makes her third trip back to the podcast (Ep. 61 and 121), this time to celebrate her latest book, a collection of her magazine work on animals titled … On Animals.

She’s the best selling author The Library Book, Rin Tin Tin, and The Orchid Thief. She’s been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1990s and, as many of you know, seeing a Susan Orlean byline is something like appointment reading. It’s special.

In this episode, we talk about:

Episode 279: Athena Dixon on Opening Doors, Day Jobs, and the Personal Essay

Become a Patron!

Sponsor love: West Virginia m Wesleyan College’s MFA in Creative Writing and The Facing Project’s Empathy Prize for Nonfiction

By Brendan O’Meara

What a treat!

It’s Athena Dixon (@AthenaDDixon), the author of the essay collection The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Split Lip Press).

Had a great chat about day jobs and threading the work you want to do around that, how there’s no “writer’s life,” but rather just a “writer living.” That’s a direct quote from her Hippocamp talk this year.

Her essay collection delves into her identity as a Black woman, divorce, relationships, sex, the masks we where, and so on. Highly recommend.

Episode 277: Allison K. Williams Talks Planned Practice, Living a Writer’s Life, and Her New Craft Book ‘Seven Drafts’

Become a Patron!

By Brendan O’Meara

Allison K. Williams is back! (@guerillamemoir) She is here to talk about her incredible new craft book Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book, a book that digs into the nitty gritty of editing.

What is so great about this book is you can be a seasoned, skilled writer/editor and this book will level you up. The book is a gift, and so too is Allison.

She’s the 2021 Literary Citizen of the Year for Hippocamp. She’s also the social media editor (?) for Brevity Magazine, and many of her craft essays for Brevity are adapted in Seven Drafts. Dig it.

In any case, we dig into lots of stuff about editing, story holes, retyping entire manuscripts, and what it means to cultivate a “writer’s life.”

Consider supporting the podcast and the audio magazine by heading to Patreon.com/cnfpod. There, you can earn transcripts, coaching, editing, and get exclusive access to the audio magazine.

Episode 261: Wudan Yan and Jenni Gritters Talk All Things Coaching, Freelancing, and Mindset Monsters

Become a Patron!

By Brendan O’Meara

Wudan Yan and Jenni Gritters are back!

They host The Writers’ Co-op Podcast, and it is back for Season 3, a season in which they focus on coaching.

Lots of good stuff here including:

Why Jenni “left” journalism
Building confidence
Business plans
Mindset monsters
And freelancer archetypes

Follow Wudan and Jenni on Twitter, as well as @CNFPod, and learn more about them, their work, and their services at their websites.

View on Zencastr

Episode 255: Maddy Crowell and the ‘Invisible Kid,’ Plus The Atavist Gets a New Look

Become a Patron!

By Brendan O’Meara

Maddy Crowell comes by the show to talk about her new piece for The Atavist Magazine titled “Invisible Kid.”

I also speak with Jonah Ogles, the lead editor of this piece, and Ed Johnson, the designer who led the way in the redesign.

This episode is packed with goodness, much like its Atavistian predecessors in Scott Eden, Phil Hoad, and Lindsay Jones.

Consider subscribing to The Atavist and its once-a-month blockbuster piece of narrative nonfiction. Once a month, can’t beat it … sounds like my newsletter!

Anyway …

We dig into a lot of might juice, and I hope it brightens up your day and wherever you are on your writer journey.

Episode 254: Elena Passarello on Weird Freelance Work, Podcasting, and Oatmeal Brain

Become a Patron!

By Brendan O’Meara

A great pleasure to welcome back Elena Passarello to the show to talk about … jeez … just about everything.

This was very much a shoot-the-shizz pod, but when it comes to Elena, there are few people you’d rather be listening to. So if you dug episodes with Bronwen Dickey and Peter Brown Hoffmeister, you’re in the right place, CNFers!

Episode 252: 60 Songs that Explain the 90s … and The Ringer’s Rob Harvilla

Become a Patron!

By Brendan O’Meara

Rob Harvilla (@harvilla), a Ringer staff writer and the mastermind behind the Spotify Original 60 Songs that Explain the 90s, comes by the show to talk about the flannel-clad 90s. As an aside, most of my wardrobe is flannel. I still wear some of my old flannel from this time. Anyway …

His podcast is great, especially if you love the 90s or came of age in the 90s, as I did.

So you know we dig into some of the great 90s vocalists, what these songs say about the 90s and Rob, and also how this podcast is actually stealth memoir over music criticism.

Hope you enjoy it. If you do, consider linking up to the show and tagging it @CNFPod. And if you want access to forthcoming audio magazines and want to support that endeavor (and pay writers!), head over to patreon.com/cnfpod.

Episode 251: Glenn Stout Brings to Life The Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America’s First Gangster Couple

Become a Patron!

By Brendan O’Meara

Glenn Stout returns for his fifth time to the podcast, this time to talk about his thrilling new book The Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid: America’s First Gangster Couple.

The book takes us to the 1920s, a time when wars were supposed to be a thing of the past, a pandemic wiped across the globe, and veterans coming from the Great War had little support at home. I’m glad all those things are a relic of the 20th century.

Episode 250: Lindsay Jones and Her Atavist Story ‘The Lives of Others’

Become a Patron!

By Brendan O’Meara

Lindsay Jones took a deep dive into the cottage hospital industry in Canada, specifically in Newfoundland, and what she found was shocking, alarming, but ultimately heart warming.

It was not unlike when the great journalist Earl Swift spent time on a small island town in Chesapeake Bay and said, “The process of being a fly on the wall doesn’t rely on folks forgetting you’re a reporter.”

And not unlike when Scott Eden made the trip down to Peru, or when Phil Hoad shadowed a couple pet detectives, Jones takes us to a new place, small, intimate, and beautiful.

Oh, and the writing is great, too.

Episode 248: Humble and Important Gifts with Bronwen Dickey

Become a Patron!

By Brendan O’Meara

“My mind is a very bad neighborhood and I should not go there alone,” says Bronwen Dickey in her fourth trip to the podcast

She was here for Ep. 21, 45, 137 and now 248.

It’s always a good time when I get to catch up with her.

Brendan’s Monthly Newsletter: First of the month! No spam! Can’t beat it!

Brendan’s Monthly Newsletter: First of the month! No spam! Can’t beat it!

Brendan’s Monthly Newsletter: First of the month! No spam! Can’t beat it!