“The possibilities of doing something similar [to fiction] in nonfiction really did appeal to me.” —Tracy Kidder
“I don’t look for subjects. I look for people.” —Tracy Kidder
Are you riffin’ kiddin’ me!?
By virtue of today’s guest I’m assuming there might be a new CNFer or two to our little marauding gang of turbulent souls in this corner of the Internet.
Welcome. We play heavy metal music, we kick maximum ass, and we will, we will rock you. This is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast (subscribe!), the show where I speak to bad ass tellers of true stories about where they came from, what and who inspires them, and how they approach the work, so that you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work. I’m your mutha-riffin’ host Brendan O’Meara, hey, hey.
“I’m always learning about structure. Always.” —Susan Orlean (@susanorlean)
Oh, hey, welcome to the show, CNFers, and, my, my, my are you in for a treat. Susan Orlean, @susanorlean on Twitter, a New Yorker staff writer and the best selling author of The Orchid Thief, Rin Tin Tin, and now her latest book, The Library Book (Simon & Schuster, 2018), is out now. And it’s everything you’d expect from her work.
Allison K. Williams embodies the spirit of a true creative.
By Brendan O’Meara
“Fame does not equal success, and success does not equal fame.” —Allison K. Williams
“Every project I do has made me more fit and better to do my next project.” —Allison K. Williams
It’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the very best in the genre of telling true stories, how they got to where they are and the tools, tips, and tricks that make them so good at what they do. I’m your host Brendan O’Meara.
Today’s guest is none other than Allison K. Williams. She’s @GuerillaMemoir on Twitter and you can visit her website at idowords.com.
“The great thing is if you find the right story it often is more interesting than fiction because it’s weird and quirky.” —Matthew Polly (@MatthewEPolly)
This is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the best in narrative journalism, doc film, radio, podcasting, essay, and memoir about the art and craft of telling true stories.
Today’s guest is Matthew Polly. He’s the author of three books of nonfiction, most recently Bruce Lee: A Life. He’s a graduate of Princeton and a Rhodes Scholar, so you can say my 1050 SAT score didn’t exactly level me up any in this conversation.
Scott Neumyer is a writer and hosts the wildly popular Anxiety Diaries Podcast.
By Brendan O’Meara
Tweetables from Scott Neumyer (@scottneumyer):
“The more you do, the more apt you are to get an assignment.”
“I want to make something happen and I just work really hard to do it.”
Today’s guest has a voice as smooth as velvet. It’s a voice you want to listen to over and over again and you know what? You can!
Today I welcome Scott Neumyer to the show. Scott is a writer who has been published by The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, GQ, Esquire, Wired, Men’s Fitness, and many more publications. He is a contributor to the anthology Life Inside My Mind: 31 Authors Share Their Personal Struggles, which Simon Pulse published in 2018. He is also the creator and host of the popular Anxiety Diaries Podcast. He lives in central New Jersey with his wife, two daughters, and two cats.
This is the show where I speak to the best creators about telling true stories, how they’re told, and why it matters so you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work.
Scott has been working hard on his new podcast, Anxiety Diaries, and it’s raw, it’s honest, and it showcases interesting people across the mental health-sphere.
In this episode we dig into his origin as a writer, influential writers, lots about the craft of interviewing, and how to launch a successful podcast.
If you dig the show, please subscribe and leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Joe Rogan (love you Joe!) doesn’t need anymore. I need them. Me. Okay, CNFers, thanks for listening, let’s get right into it.
Thanks for listening CNFers. Thanks again to Hippocamp 2018 for the support. Be sure to use that CNFPOD coupon code to save $50 on your registration fee.
Again, if you’d leave a review on Apple Podcasts, I’ll edit a piece of your writing of up to 2,000 words. Just send me a screenshot and I’ll coach up your writing. That’s only fair.
The Creative Nonfiction Podcast is sponsored by Hippocamp 2018. Now in its fourth year, Hippocamp is a three-day creative nonfiction writing conference that features 50+ speakers, engaging sessions in four tracks, interactive all-conference panels, author and attendee readings, social activities, networking opps, and optional, intimate pre-conference workshops. The conference takes place in lovely Lancaster, Pennsylvania from Aug. 24 through the 26th.
Visit hippocampusmagazine.com and click the “Conference” tab in the toolbar and if you enter the keyword CNFPOD at checkout you will receive a $50 discount. This offer is only good until Aug. 10 or until all those tickets are sold. There are a limited number so act now!
Katie Baker is a staff writer for The Ringer and damn good writer.
By Brendan O’Meara
“Working outside of journalism before working in journalism can be a useful thing in terms of seeing how the world works.” —Katie Baker (@katiebakes)
Hey there, CNFers, it’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the best artists about telling true stories, whether that’s narrative journalists, documentary filmmakers, essay and memoir writers and radio producers, I try unpack their lives and their work so you can apply those tools of mastery to your own work.
Here we are again, welcome to The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the best artists about telling true stories. I’m Brendan O’Meara.
I gotta say right up top that there’s been some serious issues with my hosting, Podomatic for those in the know, with the RSS Feeds. Shows are coming up unavailable in Apple Podcasts and it disappeared from Google Play and Stitcher. They say they’re on it, but it’s been three days with no improvement.
You can still stream the episodes from the embedded player on my website, brendanomeara.com, but in the meantime, downloading through the most popular and widely used platform—Apple Podcasts—is impossible until Podomatic gets it fixed. You might say I’ve been shopping around for other options.
Episode 104 brings back Elizabeth Rush to the podcast. Her new book Rising: Dispataches from the New American Shore (Milkweed Editions) is out. She could be coming to a city near you so check the show notes for the Rising Tour. I think that’s what Bruce Springsteen called his tour when his Rising came out. In this episode we talk about:
Rising sea levels
How to turn bleak material into something beautiful
How Elizabeth finds teaching energizing
And sexual harassment while doing fieldwork, something she’s never been asked about and was happy to get to talk about.
So that’s where we’re at. Please bear with me on the RSS nonsense. If you follow the social feeds, that links you up to my website so go find @CNFPod and @BrendanOMeara on Twitter and @CNFPodcast on Facebook. Follow Elizabeth @ElizabethaRush on Twitter for all things Rising.
Here she is: Episode 104.
Promotional support is provided by Hippocampus Magazine. Its 2018 Remember in November Contest for Creative Nonfiction is open for submissions until July 15th! This annual contest has a grand prize of $1,000 and publication for all finalists. That’s awesome. Visit hippocampusmagazine.com for details. Hippocampus Magazine: Memorable Creative Nonfiction.
If you made it this far I suspect you might like the show and want to help it out. Would you mind leaving an honest review on Apple Podcasts? That helps with validation and visibility. Let’s try and get to 100. We’re 57 ratings away at the moment. If a small fraction of you take out your phones, click on the star you deem appropriate, hit submit, that’s all you gotta do and you will have helped out the show in a major way. That takes like 10 seconds, if you want to leave a review, I will still edit a piece of writing up to 2,000 words for your kindness and time. Just send me a screenshot of the review with the date and we’ll get started.
I also have a great monthly reading list newsletter where I send out four book recommendations and what you might have missed from the world of the podcast. I don’t get any kickbacks or anything, so it’s just things I dig and endorse for your pleasure. First of the month. No Spam. Can’t beat that.
