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Now in Paperback: ‘Simple is the Way to Go’ with Mirin Fader

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This originally aired on December 10, 2021 as Episode 291.

What’s not to love about Mirin Fader (@mirinfader)?

She’s an incredible writer and reporter. She’s a senior staff writer for The Ringer. On top of that, she’s generous and insightful, and she brought all of that and more to this episode of the podcast.

We talk about her feature on Tyler Skaggs, a notable selection for Year’s Best Sports Writing.

We also dig into her biography Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an MVP.

We talk about failure and persistence and writing and ledes. This is a dream conversation if you’re into the nuts and bolts of writing and reporting long features and books.

Her feature on the late Gigi Bryant also was a notable selection for YBSW, so that’s yet another feather in Mirin’s hat.

The show’s Instagram and Threads handle is @creativenonfictionpodcast.

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Episode 316: Chip Scanlan

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Guess who’s back? It’s Chip Scanlan (@chipscanlan), and he’s here to talk about 33 Ways to Not Screw Up Your Journalism.

It’s a zippy little book that uses contemporary examples that point out blindspots in our reporting and writing and help us fix them for the next day’s work, the next piece.

He hopped on the pod for Ep. 292 about his book Writers on Writing, which is a multi-vitamin of inspiration and writing tips. Actionable to boot.

Episode 302: Neda Toloui-Semnani

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By Brendan O’Meara

If you’re like me, you like a memoir where the author is hunting for something. Neda Toloui-Semnani is on a quest of sorts in They Said They Wanted Revolution: A Memoir of My Parents (Little a, 2022).

Neda’s father was an Iranian revolutionary who was executed in the early 1980s by the shah’s regime. Neda was a toddler at the time. Neda’s mother and father were part of the protests in Berkley, California and mobilized for change.

While in Iran in the early 80s, Neda recounts the harrowing story of how she and her family escaped Iran after her father was arrested. This book is nuanced and layered and a wonderful read.

Episode 296: Bradford Pearson on Reporting, Ambition, and ‘The Eagles of Heart Mountain’

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

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By Brendan O’Meara

Who’s on the show this week, Hank?

Bradford Pearson (@bradfordpearson) on Twitter and IG, is the author of The Eagles of Heart Mountain. Must be a story of a gritty football team, right? Well, sorta, the subtitle is a true story of football, incarceration, and resistance in World War II America.

OK, that still might not get at the 100% heart of the tragedy of this book. It’s about the incarceration of Japanese Americans from 1942 to 1945, whereupon thousands upon thousands, many of which were naturalized American citizens, were stripped from their homes largely on the west coast and moved inland to often inhospitable lands, namely heart mountain in northwest Wyoming living in horrible conditions and subject to impossible racism and prejudice.

For us football fans out there, we know that watching the grid iron on a Saturday or a Sunday provides some relief and distraction, so too did the Eagles of Heart Mountain.

Episode 264: Rachel Monroe Talks About the Things Writers Don’t Tweet About

Rachel Monroe

Sponsors: West Virginia Weslyen College’s MFA in Creative Writing and HippoCamp2021 (Enter CNFPod21 for $50 off your registration!)

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By Brendan O’Meara

Rachel Monroe (@rachmonroe) is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic and myriad other places.

Her latest piece for The New Yorker is about ransomware and hacker negotiators. She wrote a piece about #vanlife for The New Yorker back in 2017 that garnered all kinds of buzz.

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

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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 245: Phil Hoad and his Atavist Story ‘Cat and Mouse’

Phil Hoad

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By Brendan O’Meara

Phil Hoad (@phload) is a journalist based in the south of France and his latest piece is featured in The Atavist. It’s titled “Cat and Mouse.”

It tells the story of two animal rights activists and their drive to find who they think is a serial killer of cats, rabbits, and foxes, but mainly cats.

In this bonus episode, I speak with lead editor Jonah Ogles (@jonahogles) about Phil’s pitch, what makes certain pitches have legs while others don’t, and the importance of figuring out how to end things. It’s much like when I spoke with Atavist editor-in-chief Seyward Darby.

Then Phil unpacks the story from there.

Episode 240: Scott Eden Pans for, Finds Gold in his Atavist Story ‘The Gilded Age’

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By Brendan O’Meara

Scott Eden returns to the show to talk about his incredible and ambitious piece for The Atavist titled “The Guilded Age.”

This extra interview in your feed is part of a new partnership with The Atavist where I interview that month’s featured writer about that month’s story to provide readers and listeners some extra depth to the experience.

In this very first one with The Atavist, Scott talks about:

Developing sources as an investigative reporter
How COVID affected this story … right at the very end
Finding a new angle on something that was already covered
And that moment when a machete was brandished in Peru

I hope you dig this extra bit of goodness. If you’re new to The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, it’s the show where I speak to badass people about the art and craft of telling true stories. Subscribe wherever you podcast!

If you want to support the show, the audio magazine we produce and help keep the lights on at HQ, consider becoming a member at patreon.com/cnfpod.

We put out a great monthly newsletter with book recommendations, cool blogs and articles, podcast news, and an exclusive invite to a monthly CNFin’ Happy Hour. Once a month. No spam. Can’t beat it!

Episode 99—David Grann on ‘The Killers of the Flower Moon” and Why Every Story is a Struggle

David Grann’s “The Killers of the Flower Moon” is now out in paperback.

By Brendan O’Meara

Tweetables by David Grann (@DavidGrann):

“I think the real trick is telling stories chronologically, letting them unfold as they really happened.”

“I’d rather find the story and excavate it than make it up.”

“I think every story is a struggle and a puzzle.”

It’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I talk to the best artists about telling true stories and tease out origins, tactics, and habits so you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work.

Welcome, CNFers, my CNFbuddies, oh, I’m feelin’ good today and, boy, do I have a treat for you. But first, if you don’t subscribe to the show, go and get it on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Stitcher, and soon Spotify and join our little tribe in this true story corner of the Internet. Continue reading “Episode 99—David Grann on ‘The Killers of the Flower Moon” and Why Every Story is a Struggle”

Episode 52—How to Write an 80,000-word Book in 42 Days with NYT Bestselling Author Joe Drape

By Brendan O’Meara

Tweetables from Joe Drape:

“We were seeing greatness. We were part of history.”

“I may not write well, but I write fast. I’m OK with that.”

“You have to figure out who you are and what works for you.”

“It’s all driven by reporting. You gotta know your stuff.”

“Sometimes 1,500 words goes to 3,000 or 6,000. Sometimes 1,500 becomes 300 and you shut your computer and go to a movie.”

“You gotta be able to eat rejection morning, noon, and night. All they can say is no.”

“This business is all about listening.”

I’m not sure where to begin if I’m being perfectly honest. Joe Drape (@joedrape on Twitter) is a New York Times sports writer and the New York Times bestselling author of Our Boys and American Pharoah: The Untold Story of the Triple Crown Winner’s Legendary Rise.

He wrote the 80,000-word manuscript in six weeks without a book leave.

How are you feeling about your productivity?

“When you say, ‘Ok, I’ve got six weeks to write 80,000 words,’ it freaks you out,” says Joe. “Sometimes 1,500 words goes to 3,000 or 6,000. Sometimes 1,500 becomes 300 and you shut your computer and go to a movie.”

I love it, baby.

Joe is the author of these six books:

American Pharoah
Black Maestro
Our Boys
The Race for the Triple Crown
In the Hornets Nest
To the Swift

In this episode he talks about how to write a book under tight deadline pressure, the power of reporting, and the power of listening.

Thanks for listening! And if you have a moment, please leave a review on iTunes. Nine (and counting) five-star reviews! Thanks so much!

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