The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara

Carolyn Holbrook is the author of Tell Me Your Names and I Will Testify: Essays (University of Minnesota Press). We talk about how teaching and writing keeps her sane, not giving a rip about winning awards (and winning one anyway!), and how she arrived at linked essays as a way to write what is, in effect, a memoir. Show notes are at brendanomeara.com and if you want to break out some cash, we've got some amazing goodies at patreon.com/cnfpod. Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod. 

Investigative journalist Scott Eden returns to the podcast to talk about his Atavist story "The Gilded Age." This is a new and exciting partnership with The Atavist Magazine where we at CNF Pod HQ will feature The Atavist's featured writer and featured story for that month. Check out this story and others at magazine.atavist.com and subscribe to read blockbuster journalism, beautifully told, beautifully designed. Follow @atavist, @CNFPod and @BrendanOMeara. Show notes are at brendanomeara.com. Patreon is here. Check it out!  

Alexandra DiPalma, the boss behind Domino Sound and the leader of the Podcast Workshop, is back to talk all things podcasting! Check out akimbo.com/thepodcastworkshop to learn more and if you use the link in the show notes at brendanomeara.com, you could take advantage of a killer discount on the seventh iteration of the workshop. We talk about her winning the golden ticket by working with Seth Godin, launching her own company, and much, much more. Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and consider being a member at patreon.com/cnfpod.

Ashkan Soltani Stone and Natale Zappia co-write the book Rez Metal: Inside the Navajo Nation Heavy Metal Scene (University of Nebraska Press). They riff about getting out of the way of the story and the collaborative process. Show notes are at brendanomeara.com and consider becoming a CNFin' member over at Patreon, patreon.com/cnfpod. Keep the conversation going @CNFPod and let us know what's on your mind. 

Podcasters and writers V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell come by CNF Pod HQ to talk about their writing nonfiction, writing novels, and producing their wonderful podcast Fiction/Non/Fiction. It is part of the Lithub Radio Network. Follow the show @CNFPod and if you dig this CNFin' enterprise, consider the killer options at Patreon page, patreon.com/cnfpod.

"Writing a book could potentially be very tedious, but I'm writing to make myself laugh or cry. If I'm not crying or laughing, I'm like, so bored," says Michael Leviton (@michaelleviton). He's the author of the memoir To Be Honest. It is published by Abrams Press. Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and consider being a member of the Patreon community, patreon.com/cnfpod.

Athletic Brewing's Mason Gravely (@alive_adventures on IG) is here to talk about his experience on the Without Compromise podcast he produces for Athletic, as well as the Adventure Sports Podcast, biking across the country, nearly DYING, and lots more. Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and consider joining our Patreon community to support the audio magazine and the continued production of this here show. Patreon.com/cnfpod.

Lamorna Ash (@LamornaAsh) is the author of Dark, Salt, Clear: The Life of a Fishing Town (Bloombury).  Her background in anthropology served her well as she immersed herself in the fishing town of Newlyn.  Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and consider being a CNFin' member on patreon.com/cnfpod. Support for this show goes to Wudan Yan and Jenni Gritters of The Writers' Co-op Podcast.  Show notes can be found at brendanomeara.com. 

Lee Gutkind, author of several books and, most recently, the memoir My Last Eight Thousand Days: An American Male in His Seventies (University of Georgia Press), returns to the show to talk about voice, starting his day, the eternal "rope test," magical moments, and the optimistic days ahead. Promotional support is provided by The Writers' Co-op Podcast. Consider becoming a member over at patreon.com/cnfpod for exclusive access to the magazine, transcripts, and much, much more. Show notes to this and other shows at brendanomeara.com.

Glenn Stout returns to the podcast to talk about the 30th and final edition of Best American Sports writing. His new book, Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid, is available for pre-order. Promotional support for the podcast is shared with The Writers' Co-op, a business podcast for writers. It is hosted by Wudan Yan and Jenni Gritters.  Consider supporting the podcast by becoming a member at patreon.com/cnfpod.

So thrilled to have Pete Croatto (@petecroatto) back on the podcast after a 202-episode drought. His new book, From Hang Time to Prime Time (Atria Books), is out now.In more than 300 interviews, Pete tells the story of how NBA became the behemoth it is today. But it all started in the late 1970s to the late 1980s. You can now become a CNFin' Member by hitting up patreon.com/cnfpod and keep the conversation going on social media, @CNFPod.Show notes, get your show notes! at brendanomeara.com.Promotional support for this episode is brought to you by The Writers' Co-op Podcast.

The first Creative Nonfiction Podcast Audio Magazine is on the theme of ISOLATION: Essays about feeling alone. We bring you essays from Damon Brown, Magin LaSov Gregg, Gina Cardarelli, Kristina Gaddy, and April Nance. You'll want to share this with your fellow CNFers because we're going to want to showcase the beautiful work done by these five authors, and we want to open up the possibilities to others. This issue will be free and available for all time on the CNF Pod feed, but in order to access subsequent issues, you'll have to be a member at Patreon.com/CNFPod. The introductory tier, and all the other ones, will give you access to the magazine (among other things).  You'll want to follow the show @CNFPod on social media and plug into what these courageous writers are doing as well. I hope you enjoy this very first audio magazine and I hope you'll consider submitting your work to the next one (HINT: the new theme and submission guidelines are at the end of this episode!). From all of us here at CNF Pod HQ: Riff!

Meichi Ng (@barelyfunctionaladult) came by the show to talk about her incredible illustrated memoir Barely Functional Adult: It'll All Make Sense Eventually (Harper Perennial).  To support the show, you can now become a member at patreon.com/cnfpod. Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and check out the show notes at brendanomeara.com. In this episode, we talk about the scary nature of publishing, how she developed her character for the comic, quitting, and holding onto positive messages in a negative world.

Being a journalist gave Kermit Pattison the license to be curious. He is the author of Fossil Men: The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind. It is published by William Morrow. Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and be sure to head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to sign up for the monthly newsletter. 

Annie Duke is the author of How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices. You can follow her @annieduke on Twitter and visit her website annieduke.com. Keep the conversation going by linking up to @CNFPod on social media and sign up for the monthly newsletters at brendanomeara.com. Reading recommendations, podcast news, and a CNFin' Happy Hour for subscribers only!

"That's what the practice is. It's for people who have read enough blog posts or books to know the method, but for whatever reason look straight at the method and blink," says Seth Godin. His 20th book is The Practice: Shipping Creative Work and it's a book for our troubled times.  Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to sign up for my monthly newsletter.

Edward Parnell (@edward_parnell) comes by the show to talk Kurt Vonnegut, birds, grief, and his book "Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country." It is published by William Collins. Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod across the Big  3.  Be sure you head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to sign up for my monthly newsletter. First of the month. No spam. Can't beat it.

"When you are being controlled by a fear, then you are not being yourself," says Amalia Andrade, @amaliaandrade_ on Twitter. Amalia is the author and illustrator behind What You Think About When You Bite Your Nails: A Fear and Anxiety Workbook (Penguin Life, 2020).  Subscribe to the podcast wherever you download them and keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod. Consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts and if you do, I'll read it on the air!  

"What can I leave out? And that point where I can start leaving things out becomes very liberating because then, in a way, the reporting continues, but it's narrowing," says Patrick Radden Keefe, a staff writer at The New Yorker, best selling author of Say Nothing, and host of Wind of Change.Follow him @praddenkeefe and follow the podcast @CNFPod. 

"I spend a lot of time thinking about promotion," says Kristen Meinzer, author of So You Want to Start a Podcast and How to be Fine, "because this is not Field of Dreams." Follow Kristen on Twitter @kristenmeinzer and while you're at it, follow the show @CNFPod. In this episode we talk about the nuts and bolts of why you should make a podcast and who should you make it for, structure, pet peeves, and the rigor of promoting your show. Stay tuned to the end for my parting shot and Kristen's Bookshelf for the Apocalypse!

"It's when you get stuck and you start to realize something's not right. It's usually because you're wrong," says Catherine Grace Katz, @Catherine_Katz on Twitter. She is the author The Daughters of Yalta:  The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans: A Story of Love and War. It's published by Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt. Follow the show @CNFPod. This show is sponsored by my editing services! Head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to email me to start a dialogue.

Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham (@ashandchess) are here to talk about their incredible and beautiful book The Gay Agenda: A Modern Queer History and Handbook (Morrow Gift, 2020) as well their stationery business that pushes art into the political realm. This show is sponsored by Scrivener, creative by writers for writers. Use the coupon code NONFICTION at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase of Scrivener. Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod and @BrendanOMeara across the big three. And if you're feeling kind share this with a friend and considering leaving a nice review on Apple Podcasts.  Oh, yeah, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

Elisa Gabbert (@egabbert) returns to talk about her new book The Unreality of Memory (FSG, 2020), as well has her poetry and how it ties into her prose. You'll also hear the five books for her Bookshelf for the Apocalypse and much, much more. This episode is supported by Scrivener, made by writers, for writers. Enter the promo code NONFICTION at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase. Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod across the big three.  Consider rating the show. I just might read it on air!

Matt Hongoltz-Hetling is a freelance writer and author of A Libertarian Walks into a Bear: The Utopian Plot to Liberate an American Town (And Some Bears). It is published by Public Affairs. Support the show by supporting our flagship sponsor! Scrivener was made by writers for writers. Enter NONFICTION at checkout to receive a 20% discount. Follow the show on social media @CNFPod in the right places. And be sure to subscribe to my monthly newsletter by heading over to brendanomeara.com.

Mary Pilon (@marypilon) and Louisa Thomas (@louisathomas) are here to talk about the book they edited together called Losers:  Dispatches from the Other Side of the Scoreboard (Penguin).  This show was possible by Scrivener. Enter the code NONFICTION at checkout to receive 20% off.

Lidia Yuknavitch is the author of the Scribd original "Letter to My Rage," as well as the memoir The Chronology of Water, the novels The Book of Joan and The Small Backs of Children, and the collection Verge. This episode was made possible by Scrivener. Enter the coupon code NONFICTION at checkout for 20% of the regular package for macOS and Windows. Keep the conversation going on Twitter, IG, and Facebook @CNFPod. Head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to sign up for the monthly newsletter.

In this all-star break edition, the top ten downloaded interviews of the year and I read from a work-in-progress titled "Raph, the Space Cadet." This episode was made possible by Scrivener, by writers, for writers. And if you enter the coupon code NONFICTION at checkout, you'll get 20% the regular versions of Scrivener for macOS and Windows.  

"It's a whole new world. I remember I was reporting for the Stephen Miller book, I went to Trump's first reelection rally in Orlando. And it was the first time that I had ever been in a place where I felt reluctant and kind of scared to tell people that I was a journalist. I wasn't there undercover. I was there to interview people. It made me nervous to be walking around with my notebook out because there were so many chants against journalists," says Jean Guerrero, author of Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda. This podcast is sponsored by my editing and coaching. Email Brendan O'Meara for details! Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod.

Seyward Darby is the editor in chief of The Atavist Magazine and the author of Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism. 

Melissa Faliveno, author of Tomboyland: Essays (Topple Books, 2020) joins me on the show to talk about softball, vegetarianism, tornados, and why she wrote essays instead of a memoir. Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod.

Kevin Guilfoile is the author of the memoir A Drive into the Gap. It is published by Field Notes. This podcast is sponsored by my writing coaching services as well as Casualty of Words, a writing podcast for people in a hurry.

"Great, so you're at the point in the writing process where you hate all your work. We all do that," says Rose Andersen, @roseandersen. This episode is sponsored by Scrivener, by writers for writers and Casualty of Words, a writing podcast for people in a hurry. Keep the conversation going on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, @CNFPod. See you there for office hours!

Stephanie Gorton, author of Citizen Reporters: S.S. McClure, Ida Tarbell, and the Magazine that Rewrote America, talks about the sacrifice of writing a book, reading fiction and nonfiction, and what it was like midwifing other people's books into the world before writing her own. This episode is sponsored by Scrivener, made by writers for writers, and Casualty of Words, a near-daily writing podcast for people in a hurry.  Be sure to follow the show on social media @CNFPod. 

Beth Roars is a vocal coach, performer, podcaster, and YouTube superstar and it's her take on creativity and evolution that inspired this conversation.Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod across them all.

"That was always my understanding that if you want to be a freelance journalist, you're probably going to have to do a lot of things that you don't want to do. So it creates time space, resources for you to dig into the things that you want to do," says Wudan Yan, @wudanyan on Twitter. This episode is sponsored by Scrivener, created by writers, for writers. Be sure you're subscribed wherever you get your podcasts and keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod. 

"I wrote a column on my 30th birthday saying things I'd like ,by the time I was 40, was write one good book," says Roy Peter Clark.  I'd say he did. Try about a dozen with Writing Tools and Murder Your Darlings being two that you know and love. He's @roypeterclark on Twitter.  Follow the show @CNFPod. Let's give a big CNFin' welcome to Scrivener for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. Be sure to check them out to level up your writing game.

Neal Bascomb, the best-selling author, joins us to talk about Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020), joins us to talk about the book, the essay he wrote as a kid that sent him on this path, and the myriad failed novels that put him on the nonfiction track. Keep the conversation going on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, @CNPod. I'd love to hear from you.

Larry Tye is here to talk about his new book Demagogue: The Life and Long Shadow of Senator Joe McCarthy (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Keep the conversation going on social media @CNFPod. And if you dig the show, consider sharing it and posting an honest review on Apple Podcasts.

Peter Brown Hoffmeister makes his return to the podcast.  He talks about role models, internal drive, self-control, regret in memoir, and he even reads a poem at the end. Keep the conversation going on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, all @CNFPod.

"I tried to write fiction and other things and it just kept being there and wanting to be written about," says Emma Copley Eisenberg about her nonfiction book, The Third Rainbow Girl. In this show we talk about her soiree into journalism world, the many false starts her book took, and pushing the boundaries in creative nonfiction. Follow her on Twitter @frumpenberg. Follow the show @CNFPod on IG, Twitter, and FB. Keep the conversation going, man.

Ruby McConnell (@rubygonewild) is the author of Ground Truth: A Geological Survey of a Life (Overcup Press). We talk about the rigor and discipline of dance and how that prepared her for writing, why geology is a great "writer's science," and so much more. Follow the show @CNFPod across all the socials and head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to subscribe to the monthly newsletter. 

"I think I can do both: I'm a participant and an observer," says Walter Thompson-Hernandez. Follow him @mychivas on Instagram.  Keep the conversation going on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @CNFPod.

Nick Flynn is the author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, The Ticking is the Bomb, The Reenactments, and, most recently, Stay: Threads, Conversations, and Collaborations (Ze Books, 2020). Follow the show on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @CNFPod. 

Keith Law (@keithlaw) is a writer for The Athletic and the author of Inside Game (William Morrow). Be sure to follow the show @CNFPod on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  Head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to sign up for the monthly newsletter. Once a month. No spam. Can't beat it.  

Rani Shah is the author of Wisdom from a Humble Jellyfish: And Other Self-Care Rituals from Nature (Dey St.) In this episode we dig into the sacrifices you need to create, balancing day jobs and art, imposter syndrome, growth mindsets, blue high heels, and dude hats. Be sure you're subscribed wherever you get your podcast. Get show notes and the monthly newsletter at brendanomeara.com. Follow the show on social media @CNFPod on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

"I knew right away I would be writing about my mom's death. I knew that immediately," says Eva Holland, author of Nerve: Adventures in the Science of Fear (The Experiment, 2020). Eva Holland is a freelancer features writer whose work has appeared Outside, Wired and Best American Science and Nature Writing, to name a few. You can follow her @evaholland on Twitter. In this episode we talk about: Next-level freelance advice Dealing with imposter syndrome Blending memoir and reportage And much more Follow the show @CNFPod on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to subscribe to my monthly newsletter. Email the show [email protected] with questions. And, if you're feeling kind, consider leaving a kind review on Apple Podcasts. 

Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer are the people behind the By the Book podcast and the authors of How to Be Fine: What We Learned from Living By the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books (Willam Morrow).

Ben Cohen, the NBA writer for The Wall Street Journal, stopped by the show to talk about The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks (Custom House, 2020).

"Selection is as creative as generation," says Michael Schulman, a staff writer for The New Yorker. CNF Pod is brought to you by Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing and my monthly newsletter!  

Allison Fallon (@missallyfallon) is the author of twelve books. Her most recent is Indestructible. Support for this show comes from Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing, HippoCamp 2020, and my monthly newsletter.