Brendan O’Meara – Page 24 – Home of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast

Episode 197: Eva Holland — Coping by Going into Reporter Mode

By Brendan O’Meara

Eva Holland returns to the show after a long, long absence.

In this episode, you’ll hear some of the advanced advice she knows and wants to know regarding freelancing, the nexus of memoir and deep reportage, participatory antics, and overcoming the imposter syndrome of stepping out of her comfort zone.

I’m hesitant to include or first interview because it is a rough production. Eva was great. Me on the other hand …

In any case, Eva has a new book out called Nerve: Adventures in the Science of Fear (The Experiment, 2020) and it is a trip.

“I knew right away I would be writing about my mom’s death. I knew that immediately,” Eva told me, and that was what triggered a years’ long journey into fear and her relationship to it.

Follow the show @CNFPod on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Email the show with questions or kind words creativenonfictionpodcast@gmail.com. If this show means something to you, please consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts.

Episode 196: How to Be Fine with Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer

By Brendan O’Meara

Man, this was fun, CNFers. We’ve got Jolenta Greenberg (@JolentaG) and Kristen Meinzer (@kristenmeinzer) in the CNFin’ house.

They are the co-hosts of By the Book, a podcast where they read a self-help book, follow its “recipes,” and report back. It’s a great show and the inspiration for their book, How to Be Fine: What We Learned from Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books (Willam Morrow, 2020).

I think this episode pairs well with Austin Kleon, Jeff Goins, Chase Jarvis, and maybe a little Allison Fallon.

So many great insights about negative self-talk, what they feel is fundamentally lacking in most self-help books, and how to ultimately be kinder to yourself.

This book comes at a good time because things are rough. Things are topsy-turvy. We need people like Jolenta and Kristen doing their thing and thankfully their work is out there for us.

As you know, you can keep in touch on social media by following the show @CNFPod wherever. Also, if you’re feeling kind, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. Share this show if it means something to you. We’d be honored if you did.

[Again, no art because my website host hasn’t fixed the issue yet.]

Episode 195: Ben Cohen and ‘The Hot Hand’

By Brendan O’Meara

“I know if some one else wrote this book, I would be very envious and jealous and never let myself feel the end of it,” says Ben Cohen, NBA writer for The Wall Street Journal and author of The Hot Hand: The Mystery and the Science Behind Streaks (Custom House, 2020). He’s @bzcohen on Twitter.

This was a fun book, especially if you like Malcolm Gladwell-style books that orbit one idea. This book takes you all over the place, not just basketball, so I think you’ll have a lot of fun with it. If I didn’t already put in the last newsletter, I’ll be sure to include it in the next one.

In any case, don’t forget that we’re putting out our very first audio-mag on the theme: Social Distancing, essays from/on isolation. They must be 2,000 words or fewer (that’s a 15-minute read) and be original work. Email you submission to creative nonfiction podcast at gmail dot com, ya dig?

That’s as good a time as any to say that I’m thinking of all you out there. Some have it pretty rough. I can’t complain. I have shelter, food, clothes and a job (for now) that lets me work from home. And I’ve got this podcast that I get to make for you.

This show only work if you share it hand to hand. Be an Ambassador CNFer and spread what we’re doing around. @CNFPod on all the social platforms.

You can pair this episode with people like Scott Eden or Greg Hanlon.

Other writers mentioned were Michael Lewis and J.R. Moehringer.

Episode 194: Michael Schulman — Driven by Joy, New Yorker Profiles, and the ‘Secret Word’

By Brendan O’Meara

“Selection is as creative as generation,” says Michael Schulman on the podcast.

Michael Schulman is a staff writer for The New Yorker and author of Her Again, a biography of the early life of Meryl Streep. Go check it out. I haven’t read it yet, as I came to Michael’s work through his profiles in The New Yorker.

As coincidence would have it, once I had lined up Michael to be on the show, he appeared on This American Life during the introduction to the Everyone’s a Critic show.

In any case, it was Michael’s profile on James Cordon that prompted me to reach out, but I also loved his work on Adam Driver and Bo Burnham as well.

In this show we talk about how his work is driven by joy, how he boils down each story down to a single, secret word, and how his background in theater led to his break at the magazine. Some great stuff here.

This episode is sponsored in part by Bay Path University’s MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing.

Follow the podcast on social media @CNFPod across all the various platforms and sign up for that newsletter.

And did you listen to the long introduction to this episode yet? I’m publishing the first CNF Pod audio magazine with the theme Social Distancing: Essays from/of Isolation. Word limit is 2,000 as we want the reading to be 15 minutes or less. Email submissions to creativenonfictionpodcast at gmail dot com. DEADLINE IS MAY 1, 2020.

In this time of social distancing and isolation, hearing essays from this challenging time can bring us together. I hope you’ll submit your best work. I’d be honored to publish it three or four of however many submissions I receive.

OK, readyyyyyy, break!

PS: I’m having technical difficulties uploading photographs, so that’s why you haven’t seen author photos for the past few episodes. Hoping the host I pay money to will figure it out.

Episode 193: Allison Fallon — Find Your Voice

By Brendan O’Meara

Hey, CNFers, citizens of CNF Nation! We’ve got Allison Fallon here for you. She offers brilliant insights into following your calling and finding your voice.

She’s the author of several books, most recently Indestructible.

Allison has taken control of her writing journey and I think you’ll find some juicy nuggets to apply to your life. Good stuff.

This episode is brought to you by Bay Path University’s MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing, as well as HippoCamp2020. Use that CNFPOD2020 coupon code to receive $40 off your tuition.

Also, be sure to follow the show’s social channels as a way to keep the conversation going and to keep in touch. @CNFPod on IG, Twitter, and Facebook.

Episode 189: Damon Brown on ‘Bring Your Worth’ and the Secret Power of Cocktail Napkins

By Brendan O’Meara

You ready for a treat, CNFers? I’ve got Damon Brown for you this Valentine’s Day. Awwwww.

Damon has written several books, most self-published, but some not. His book Bring Your Worth is what prompted this conversation.

He’s in that vein of Jeff Goins, Austin Kleon and Chase Jarvis about how to get inspired to do your best work.

We met at HippoCamp 2019 and got to talking about a lot of the themes that you’ve come to love from this little podcast. Jeanette Hurt was also with us at the bar. Actually, I was with them since they’ve been creative partners for years and they co-talked a talk about earning money while you sleep. Passive Writer is the book they co-authored about it. Good stuff.

They were really sweet and attended my train wreck of a presentation. More on that another time.

Make sure you sign up for Damon’s newsletter, after mine 😉 and follow him on Twitter @browndamon.

That it? I think so.

Episode 187: Ander Monson — It’s Electric

By Brendan O’Meara

Ander Monson wrote a killer essay for True Story titled “My Monument.” He also edits DIAGRAM and runs a series of essay contests and competitions. He’s what you’d call a great literary citizen.

We talk his essay and a lot of other cool junk.

I love it when I have nearly instant chemistry with someone, and that was certainly the case with Ander. I only wish we had more time!

I love when previous guests pop up in a show, like Elisa Gabbert and Elena Passarello.

If you have any questions or concerns (you might after listening to my intro. Don’t worry. Things are cool. #riesling email the show creativenonfictionpodcast at gmail dot com. You may also find the show on Twitter, IG and Facebook, all @CNFPod.

If this show matters to you, please share with your CNFin’ friends and consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts.

Books by Ander

I Will Take the Answer
Gnome Stories

Episode 186: Brin-Jonathan Butler — Misfits, Status, and ‘Tourist Information’

By Brendan O’Meara

Good ol’ Brin-Jonathan Butler returns to the show. In years’ past, he’s come on to talk about all kinds of stuff. Cuba. Access as a drug. Chess. And the blessing of struggle.

He’s a kindred spirit and person who best articulates what I’m thinking, only I’m incapable of articulating it the way he can.

Brin’s also my favorite writer going. He throws a “heavy ball,” as we say in baseball circles. The ball sounds differently coming off his bat.

He’s the author of The Grandmaster and The Domino Diaries and he’s the host of the new podcast Tourist Information.

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your pods and to subscribe to my monthly newsletter. Social media is @CNFPod, though, as many of you know, I’ve scaled back quite a bit on this.

As always, thanks for listening.

Episode 185: Tim O’Brien on Memory, Failure and his ‘Maybe Book’

By Brendan O’Meara

Tim O’Brien, the author of The Things They Carried and Going After Cacciato, has written a book sixteen years in the making: Dad’s Maybe Book (HMH, 2019).

I’m no dad, nor will I ever be one, but I’m a son, and I’d read about bricklaying if Tim O’Brien’s name is attached to it. This book is so expansive and tender and prescriptive without being didactic. It’s about reading, writing, fatherhood, sonhood, marriage, struggle, triumph, demons. It’s about Tim.

Remember, if you enjoy the show, consider linking up to it on social media and leaving a kind review over on Apple Podcasts.

And also be sure to sign up for my monthly newsletter. I’ve scaled back social media (@CNFPod across the Big Three), but the newsletter is the real thing, the real one-to-one connection I’m after.

Enjoy this conversation with Tim O’Brien.

Episode 184: Kristina Gaddy — ‘Flowers in the Gutter’ and Loving What’s Underneath It All

By Brendan O’Meara

Hey, CNFers, Kristina Gaddy (@kgadz) is here to drop some sick riffs on the craft. She’s also here to talk about her new book Flowers in the Gutter: The True Story of the Teenagers Who Fought the Nazis. I know, right? So selfish.

This was a fun one as we dig into her reading habits, her writing routine, her obsession with that writing software, and her passion for research.

Be sure to sign up for my monthly newsletter, up there, down there, pop up.

What else? You can join the show on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Hey, there’s a services tab up there, but you can go there now. I’d be honored to help you with your work. It’s time to level up you work and I want to help.

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Books by Ander

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER!: Once a Month. No Spam. Can’t Beat It.

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER!: Once a Month. No Spam. Can’t Beat It.

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER!: Once a Month. No Spam. Can’t Beat It.

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER!: Once a Month. No Spam. Can’t Beat It.