The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara

In "Two Thousand Miles from Home," journalist Lily Hyde chronicles the unbelievable true story of three pregnant women torn apart by war.Lily talks about how she hates every thing she writes, struggling with the invasiveness of journalism, and how she earned the truest of her central figures.Support: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSocial: @creativenonfictionpodcast on IG and Threads

Will Harrison is an instructor at the School for Visual Arts in New York City as well the author of several essays including "My Unlikely Writing Teacher: Pedro Martinez" for the New York Times Magazine.Will talks about: How slow of a writer he is How voice just emerges over time And how "pitch selection" is akin to how you vary your sentencesSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnfSocial: @creativenonfictionpodcast on IG and Threads

This originally aired as Episode 49 on May 19, 2017.“The people I know who fail as writers … lack patience, stubbornness.”Dinty W. Moore is the founder of Brevity Magazine and the author of several books including The Story Cure: A Book Doctor's Pain-Free Guide to Finishing Your Novel or Memoir.In this episode we talk about: Patience Voice Getting inspired instead of dejected by feedback And the power of dozens of draftsSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnfSocial: @creativenonfictionpodcast on IG and Threads

"I try to minimize harm and maximize truth," says Kim H. Cross, author of In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America's Child (Grand Central Publishing).In this episode we touch on: Giving people agency The ethics of writing true crime Being a human first and a journalist second, And the importance of setting up writing retreats for yourselfSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnfSocial: @creativenonfictionpodcast on IG and Threads

This originally aired as Episode 54 on June 23, 2017.Andre Dubus III is the author of the memoir Townie and the novels The House of Sand and Fog and Such Kindness.Support: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnfSocial: @creativenonfictionpodcast on IG and Threads

Tom Donaghy explored the murder of the "Fudge King" of Ocean City for The Atavist Magazine.Support: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnf

“A poet is a special kind of nerd.” —Jericho BrownThis episode originally ran as Ep. 148Jericho Brown is the Pulitzer Prize—winning poet behind The Tradition.Support: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnf

Lana Hall is a journalist and essayist based out of Toronto, Canada. Her essay "We Are All Animals at Night" ran in Hazlitt.Support: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnf

This is a rerun and originally published as Ep. 100.Mary Karr is the author of the poetry collection Tropic of Squalor and the memoirs Lit, Cherry, and The Liar's Club.Support: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnf

Robert Kolker is the best selling author of Hidden Valley Road and Lost Girls. He's on the show to talk about his Atavist piece "Dead Reckoning."Newsletter: ragegainstthealgorithm.beehiiv.com/subscribeShow notes: brendanomeara.comSocial: @CNFPod and @creativenonfictionpodcastSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnfSuds: Athletic Brewing, promo BRENDANO20

Nicholas Dighiera is a writer whose work has appeared in Short Reads, River Teeth, Catamaran, and Under the Gum Tree, among many others.Support: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes/newsletter: brendanomeara.comSocial: @CNFPod and @creativenonfictionpodcast

Author readings ... they mostly suck.Support: Patreon.com/cnfpodNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSocial: @CNFPod or @creativenonfictionpodcast

Pete Croatto is a freelance writer and author of From Hang Time to Prime Time. He's back to talk about that strange post-book period.Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm on BeehiivShow notes: brendanomeara.comSocial: @CNFPod and @creativenonfictionpodcast

Lucy Sexton and Joe Sexton, father and daughter, team up for this braided piece for The Atavist titled "Held Together."Newsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSuds: Athletic Brewing.com, promo code BRENDANO20

Michael Finkel is the author of The Art Thief: A True Story of Passion, Obsession, and a Monumental Crime Spree.Substack: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSocial: @CNFPod

Wudan Yan is a freelancer writer, journalist, coach, podcaster, fact checker, hiker. She wrote about food contamination for Undark.Substack: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSuds: Athleticbrewing.com, promo code BRENDANO20

Alison Mariella Desir (@alisonmdesir) is an activist, marathoner, and author of Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn't Built for Us.Substack: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnfSuds: Athletic Brewing.com, promo code BRENDANO20 

Steven Moore is the author of The Distance from Slaughter County: Lessons from Flyover Country (UNC Press). Show notes: brendanomeara.comSubstack: Rage Against the AlgorithmSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSponsor: Liquid IV, code cnfSuds: Athletic Brewing, code BRENDANO20

Carlos Barragan is a journalist and MFA student at the Columbia School of Journalism and his piece for The Atavist is "The Romance Scammer on My Sofa."Substack: Rage Against the AlgorithmSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnfShow notes: brendanomeara.comSuds: Athletic Brewing, promo code BRENDANO20

John Vaillant (@johnvaillant) is the author four books including Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World (Knopf).Show notes: brendanomeara.comSubstack: Rage Against the AlgorithmSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSponsor: Liquid IV, code: cnfSuds: Athletic Brewing, code: BRENDANO20

Hattie Fletcher and Stephen Knezovich are part of a team that started Short Reads, short-reads.org a weekly email dispatch of flash nonfiction.Substack: Rage Against the AlgorithmSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code cnfSuds: Athletic Brewing, promo code BRENDANO20

Christine Yu is the author of Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes (Riverhead Books).Substack: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSponsor: Liquid IV, promo code CNFSuds: Athletic Brewing, promo code BRENDANO20

Seth Godin is the author of more than 20 books, including his latest The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams.Sponsor: Liquid IV, and use promo code CNFSubstack: Rage Against the AlgorithmSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSocial: @CNFPodShow notes: brendanomeara.comSuds: Athletic Brewing, promo code BRENDANO20

Anna Altman is a freelance journalist. This is her second time writing for The Atavist. Substack: Rage Against the AlgorithmSocial: @CNFPodShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: patreon.com/cnfpodSuds: Athletic Brewing, use BRENDANO20 at checkout

Jen A. Miller (@ByJenAMiller) is a freelance writer and author of Freelance Writing for Laid-Off Journalists (and Those Who Want to Quit).Substack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.comSocial: @CNFPodShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: patreon.com/cnfpod

A couple crafty-type essays this week.Substack: Rage Against the AlgorithmSocial: @CNFPodShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: patreon.com/cnfpod

Christopher McDougall (@ChrisMcDougall) is the author of Born to Run and Born to Run 2: The Ultimate Training Guide. Show notes: brendanomeara.comSubstack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.comSocial: @CNFPodSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

Akeem S. Roberts (@akeemteam) is an illustrator, animator, and cartoonist who regularly draws for The New Yorker.Substack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.comSocial: @CNFPodSupport: patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Tyler Hooper (@thooper8) is the writer behind The Atavist Magazine piece "Titanic of the Pacific."Social: @CNFPodSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSubstack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.comShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Reid Mitenbuler (@reidmitenbuler) is the author of Wanderlust: An Eccentric Explorer, an Epic Journey, a Lost Age (Mariner Books).Substack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.comSocial: @CNFPodSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.com

David Grann is the best-selling author behind The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder. He's also the author Killers of the Flower Moon, The Lost City of Z, and The Devil & Sherlock Holmes.Social: @CNFPodSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSubstack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.comShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Maggie Smith is a poet and the author of You Could Make This Place Beautiful. Substack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.comShow notes: brendanomeara.comSocial: @CNFPodSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

Mitchell S. Jackson is the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of "Twelve Minutes and a Life" for his piece on Ahmaud Arbery for Runners World. He's also the author of Survival Math: Notes from an All-American Family and the novel The Residue Years.Social: @CNFPodSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.comSubstack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.com

Eric Pape (@ericpape) is a freelance journalist and journalism instructor. In this conversation, Eric talks about his piece for The Atavist Magazine. We also hear from editor-in-chief of The Atavist Seyward Darby.Social: @CNFPodSubstack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Svati Kirsten Narula (@svatikirsten) is an editor and journalist whose "A Mountain Called Her Home" is a wonderful feature that ran in Outside Magazine about the life and death of Nanda Devi Unsoeld.Show notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpodSocial: @CNFPodSubstack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.com

Ari Shapiro (@arishapiro) is the host of NPR's All Things Considered and the author of the memoir The Best Strangers in the World: Stories from a Life Spent Listening (HarperCollins). Social: @CNFPod Substack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.com Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Show notes: brendanomeara.com N/A Beer Discount: athleticbrewing.com, use BRENDANO20 at checkout  

Elizabeth Gonzalez James is a novelist and essayist whose chapbook Five Conversations About Peter Sellers (Texas Review Press) puts the creative in creative nonfiction. Social: @CNFPod Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Show Notes: Brendanomeara.com Substack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.com

Shannon McCaffrey (@shannonajc1) is the author and reporter behind "Sanctuary," a love story of sorts, for this month's issue of The Atavist. We also hear from Atavist editor-in-chief Seyward Darby (@seywarddarby). Social: @CNFPod Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Show notes: brendanomeara.com Substack: rageagainstthealgorithm.substack.com Beer discount: athleticbrewing.com, enter code BRENDANO20 at checkout.  

Erica J. Berry (@ericajberry) is back, this time to talk about her book Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear (Flatiron Books). Social: @CNFPod Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Show notes/newsletter: brendanomeara.com Beer discount: athleticbrewing.com, enter BRENDANO20 at checkout for a discount.  

Adam Popescu (@adampopescu) is a Los Angeles-based journalist and writer and he recently wrote about his trip to Congo and the first national park to mine for Bitcoin. Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Social: @CNFPod Show notes/newsletter: brendanomeara.com Athletic Brewing discount, enter BRENDANO20 at checkout.

Siku Allooloo (@discobou on IG) is a writer, poet, and filmmaker and we talk about her essays "Caribou People" and "Living Death." Social: @CNFPod Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Newsletter/show notes: brendanomeara.com

Flinder Boyd (@FlinderBoyd) is a freelance journalist whose piece "20 Minutes in Rucker Park" turns ten this year. He's also a filmmaker and a former professional basketball player. Show notes/newsletter: brendanomeara.com Social: @CNFPod Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod

Nile Cappello (@liketheriver_) returns to talk about her Atavist piece for Feb. 2023. Social: @CNFPod Show notes/Newsletter: brendanomeara.com Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod

Isaac Fitzgerald is the author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confession (Bloomsbury) and a frequent contributor to The Today Show. Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Social: @CNFPod Show notes/newsletter: brendanomeara.com  

Lauren Fleshman is the author of Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World (Penguin Press). Social: @CNFPod Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Show notes/newsletter: brendanomeara.com

Leah Sottile (@LeahSottile) is a freelance journalist and her latest project is Burn Wild, a podcast about eco-terrorism and the lengths people will go to save the planet. Social: @CNFPod Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Newsletter: brendanomeara.com

Damon Brown is the author of many books including Career Remix and Build from Now, and a content creator at youtube.com/@browndamon and career coach. Social: @CNFPod Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Show notes/newsletter: brendanomeara.com

Madeline Bodin is the writer behind "The Curious Case of Nebraska Man" for the Atavist Magazine. Social: @CNFPod Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Show notes/Newsletter: brendanomeara.com N/A Beer Discount: Visit athleticbrewing.com, enter BRENDANO20 at checkout

Michael Cuglietta, Andrew Sottile, Lori Sebastianutti, and Shawna Kenney bring you essays on the theme "Heroes." Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod Social: @CNFPod or @creativenonfictionpodcast Show notes/newsletters: brendanomeara.com

Carl Hoffman (@lunaticcarl on Twitter, @carlhoffmanstories on IG) is the author of five books, inclucing Liar's Circus: A Strange and Terrifying Journey into the Upside-Down World of Trump's MAGA Rallies (Custom House). Social: @CNFPod Support: patreon.com/cnfpod Show notes/newsletter: brendanomeara.com