Podcasts about Creative nonfiction

"You have to finish it out. You have to report it, even if it's financially a terrible idea," says Matthew Wolfe.OK, it's that Atavistian time of the month so we're here to talk about Matthew Wolfe's “The Talented Mr. Bruseaux: He made his name in Chicago investigating racial violence, solving crimes, and exposing corruption. But American's first Black private detective was hiding secrets of his own.” Go to magazone.atavist.com to read it.So we'll be hearing from Matt in due time. It's not Matt's first story with the Atavist and we talk a little about his first story with the Atavist as well.Matt is a journalist and I believe he wrapped up a PhD in sociology. He's got a book coming out next year. We'll be sure to tout that when the time comes.Batting leadoff here is none other than lead editor Jonah Ogles. Jonah and I talk about the ideal writer to work with and get into how he edited Matt's pieceMatt's first Atavist story was “The Ghosts of Pickering Trail.” His work has appeared in the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, The Atlantic, Harper's, Pop-Up Magazine, the New Republic … hold on ... maybe I should just read the publications he hasn't written for. Oh, wait, there are none. Shit. You can find more about Matt at matthewwolfe.net.Matt likes to lean on TV and screenplays as a means to developing stories. He uses the Dan Harmon Story Circle to help with structure, and I'll link up to that in the show notes. We talk about not being mercenary about stories and leaning into the ones that won't let go, and one of the more bizarre recommendations you'll ever hear.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com

"Listening to podcasts, it's like, how do I start making them? That's been my approach, essentially try and take that beginner mindset into anything and try to teach myself new skills," says Mark Armstrong.Who do we have today? It's Mark Armstrong! He is a producer, a writer, a singer, working at the intersection of storytelling and digital media. Does that make him intersectional? Hell, yes.Mark is the founder of Longreads, the hashtag phenomenon back when social media was cool. Now he's the editor of the Nieman Storyboard, which is where all us narrative journalists go to get jealous of one another. He hosts the Nieman Storyboard podcast and he's also the co-founder of Ursa Story Company that he created with Dawnie Walton and Deesha Philyaw. Intersectional, indeed.So Mark is a pretty rad guy, great guy. He was one of the five people in the audience for event in Seattle. I tell you, five people in a room made for 100 is … upsetting, but he was so generous to come by. We got our picture taken together. See that in the show notesIn this episode we talk about: Beginner's mindset Trying new things just to fuck around The importance of a host's curation Why he started the Nieman Storyboard Podcast And the myriad ways we as journalists can try to make a buckIt's some nice dialogue here. A real conversation. You can learn more about Mark at markarms.com and follow him on Instagram @markarms.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com

"Yeah, join the club of people who feel inadequate," says Dana Jeri Maier, a cartoonist and author of the graphic book on creativity Skip to the Fun Parts.This incredible artist is the author of Skip to the Fun Parts: Cartoons and Complaints About the Creative Process. It's one of the best books on creativity because it deals with doubt, it deals with jealousy, it deals with ideas, it deals with perfectionism. Dana is a hilarious cartoonist and you should pick up a Front Runner and also a copy of Skip to the Fun Parts.I've long wanted to be a cartoonist. I know there's no perfect job, but I love the idea of creating something funny and whimsical and not having to talk to as many people as being a biographer entails.Dana, Dana, Dana, is a contributor to the New Yorker Daily Shouts and the creator behind the cartoon series The Worried Well. She has illustrated for The Phillips Collection, the DC Public Library, Politics and Prose, and Museum Hack. She's into improv and she lives in DC with her two cats and man husband.We talk about her influences, voice and style, how she doesn't trust anyone with a neat desk, bad ideas, jealousy, and a lot more. She's a real treat.Learn more about her at danajerimaier.com and on IG @danajerimaier.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Brendan O'Meara, host of the Creative Nonfiction podcast, joins J.D. to talk about his new book, "The Front Runner: The Life of Steve Prefontaine"Visit us on Substack

In the fifty years since his tragic death in a car crash, Steve Prefontaine has towered over American distance running. One of the most recognizable and charismatic figures to ever run competitively in the United States, Prefontaine has endured as a source of inspiration and fascination—a talent who presaged the American running boom of the late 1970s and helped put Nike on the map as the brand's first celebrity-athlete face. Now on the anniversary of his untimely death, author Brendan O'Meara, host of the Creative Nonfiction podcast, offers a fresh, definitive retelling of Prefontaine's life, revisiting one of the most enigmatic figures in American sports with a twenty-first-century lens. Through over a hundred and fifty original interviews with family, friends, teammates, and competitors, this long-overdue reappraisal of Prefontaine—the first such exhaustive treatment in almost thirty years—provides never-before-told stories about the unique talent, innovative mental strength, and personal struggles that shaped Prefontaine on and off the track. Bringing new depth to an athlete long eclipsed by his brash, aggressive running style and the heartbreak of his death at twenty-four, O'Meara finds the man inside the myth, scrutinizing a legacy that has shaped American sports culture for decades. What emerges is a singular portrait of a distinctly American talent, a story written in the pines and firs of the Pacific Northwest back when running was more blue-collar love than corporate pursuit—the story of a runner whose short life casts a long, fast shadow. Craig Gill is a writer, researcher and historian based in Vancouver, BC. He is the author of Caddying on the Color Line, a history of African American golf caddies in the U.S. South. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sports

"I'm a guy who needs a lede. I need the lede to work. I need it to be compelling. And it doesn't have to be the best place to begin. It just has to be a place to begin that works and that amuses and sucks you in. I. So once I have a lede, then that will lead to another place," says Nick Paumgarten.Wow, so today we have Nick Paumgarten and can I tell you something? Nick has long been my favorite New Yorker profile writer. Whether it's profiling Mikaela Shiffrin or Mr. Money Mustache, or features about elevators, teaching birds to migrate, the Eagles winning the Super Bowl, or a feature about a sketchy restaurateur; he is appointment reading. I see his name in the table of contents of an issue of The New Yorker and I will stop just about everything I'm doing and spend the next hour or so reading Nick's work. Over the years, he's been the model, for me, as the perfect profile writer.Nick is a long-time New Yorker staff writer. You know, it's funny, since I've never landed a big feature at a big magazine like the New Yorker, I kinda feel like a phony, a fake writer, even though I have two books under my belt. When Nick and I were off mic, he was saying how because he hasn't published a book yet, he feels like a fake writer. This is Nick Paumgarten (!) saying he feels like a phony. It goes to show, none of us feel good about ourselves.In this episode, we talk about: The reporting suggesting the root system of a piece Loosening your grip Stories being like a rip tide Need a lede to work first Befriending chronology And the nerderyI mean, great stuff. I was finally put in touch with Nick by CNF Pod alum Jared Sullivan, the author of the brilliant book Valley So Low, of Ep. 443 fame, and I'm so glad we got to make this happen.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Shownotes:John T. Edge joins Chris and Eddie for a conversation that takes them all over the South. John T. is a writer, commentator, the former director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, and host of the television show True South. He is the director of the Mississippi Lab at the University of Mississippi, and his latest passion project is the Greenfield Farm Writers Residency, which will offer space for writers of all kinds to step away from the real world and put their focus and attention on their writing project, whether that's a song, a poem, a novel, or a scientific paper.John T. earned his MA in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College. He has written or edited more than a dozen books and has written columns for the Oxford American and the New York Times. He has also been featured on NPR's All Things Considered as well as CBS Sunday Morning and Iron Chef.Most importantly, he firmly believes that Birmingham, Alabama, is a Southern city, no matter what Chris says.Resources:John T.'s websiteGreenfield Farm Writers ResidencyTrue South

"If you don't cultivate other interests or travel or spend time with friends, this and that, you don't have anything to write about," says Dane Huckelbridge, author of Queen of All Mayhem (William Morrow).Dane returns to the show to talk about his latest book, but also a smattering of other juicy writer topics such as: Procrastination Writing around the uncertainty Not having much of a routine Spacing out Niche hobbies And staying motivatedDane can be found at danehuckelbridge.com and on IG @huckelbridge.This episodes opens with an audio excerpt of The Front Runner, read by Roger Wayne.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com

"The story is the horse, and the writer is the rider of the horse, and you as the editor, need to help guide them along. And if the rider starts to fall off, you put them back on, and it's your job to lead them safely into the barn. At no point should you shove the rider off the horse, get on yourself and ride it into the distance," says Amanda Heckert, executive editor of Garden & Gun.Amanda Heckert is something of a wunderkind and an absolute boss of an editor.In this episode we talk about: How she tells her writers to let it rip (within reason) How she found empathy for the writer side of the table, and how writers can better understand the POV of the editor side Writing a great pitch How a story is a horse the writer is the rider And the arc of her career that brought her back to her native South CarolinaYou can learn more about Amanda at gardenandgun.com and follow her on IG @amandaheckert.This episodes opens with an audio excerpt of The Front Runner, read by Roger Wayne.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com

From Amy:Timing for creative work is interesting. Sometimes you start a project that, for whatever reason, doesn't want to come together right then. Later the perfect timing arises, and you understand that this project was preparing itself to meet the moment.I recorded this conversation with Sigrid K. Nielsen two years ago; then my podcast went on a forced hiatus. (As in, my editor quit to be a musician, causing me to rework my production process.) Which meant that this and other conversations never got produced, but I kept them in reserve.Now it's Pride Month 2025; now is the moment.What I said then is equally true today: Sigrid K Nielsen lights up a room. I have spent time with her on many occasions, live and on Zoom calls, 1:1 and in groups, and she's never been anything but her most authentic, fully expressed, and yes, BLISSFUL, free self. That's a choice on her part. When you read Sigrid‘s book (forthcoming) you'll see what I mean: Sigrid is incredibly vibrant. But you don't have to wait for the book to meet her. You can listen today.Be forewarned, Sigrid will force you to rethink things you thought you were certain of. Because she sure has rethought things. Courageously so.Back to the timing: As I release this episode, it's Monday, June 23. I wanted to release it on Friday, but that just didn't want to happen, even though it was ready. All the things were conspiring to delay publication. Then on Saturday evening, we learned that bombs were illegally dropped on Iran without notice and without any justification except to make an old man feel good about himself. As with so much right now, there is so much distraction.And I'm going to say this part out loud: Othering trans people, making them scapegoats for all the harms in the world, is keeping US ALL from being who WE ALL truly are, seeing what's right there for us to see. WE ALL have it in us to be compassionate, kind, loving people, when we're not running scared from each other. But that requires awareness.We can make another choice.This othering is not a new tactic. It was there in the 30's in Germany, when trans people were targeted (we forget that part because their libraries, their history, their rich artistic culture was obliterated), and it was there in the 80's when Sigrid and I were coming of age, and only rockstars could dress as they wanted. Because it was a "costume."Performance, you see. Heaven forbid YOU be queer. Or other. Sigrid's former self knew that assignment.But that required hiding in plain sight. Even from yourself. And once you're aware of what's really there, you can't not see it. Pretending not to see is exhausting. You want to stop making believe.Isn't that true for us all?Sigrid is a trans woman who transitioned at nearly 50 years old. AND. This is who she's always been.As much as I have always recognized Sigrid's voice as powerful, her writing sublime, her presence uplifting and joyous, there has never been a moment when her message was more essential.We have solutions to find for our one small, beautiful planet's great problems. Queer people are not one of those problems. They deserve all the love.They are leading the way, ahead of their time.It's going to require all of us to face our deepest fears and embrace our most profound gifts. Our humanity. And to be abundantly clear, this doesn't mean YOU have to be TRANS. Unless you are.We need YOU to be YOU. That's our agenda.Because, as Sigrid often reminds me, though our stories may look vastly different on the surface— hers is from the perspective of a trans woman who came out at midlife, and mine is a different kind of midlife revival—our real-life stories are universal.We are all human and we are all in this together.Thanks Sigrid!Love, AmySigrid K. Nielsen stepped into her truth in May 2021 and has been living her best self ever since. Her life is better now than anything she ever imagined in her wildest dreams. She works with people and companies as a speaker, coach, and Financial Advisor. Amy Hallberg is the author of Tiny Altars: A Midlife Revival and German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. She is the host of Courageous Wordsmith Podcast and founder of Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life Writers. As an editor and writing mentor, Amy guides writers through their narrative journeys—from inklings to beautiful works, specifically podcasts and books. A lifelong Minnesotan and mother of grown twins, Amy lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two cats. Get Amy's Books and AudiobooksLearn about Courageous Wordsmith Circle for Real-Life WritersWork with Amy 1:1

"One of the things I've done is to reconfigure the fireworks. The fireworks for me now are getting to have this thing off my desk so I get to work on something new. That's the firework," says Yi Shun Lai, an author, writer, and instructor.Our occasion for this show was an essay she wrote for Writer Magazine about "arrival fallacy," this notion that once we get "there," wherever "there" is, we will have made it.She's the author of three books, all in different genres, the YA novel A Suffragist's Guide to the Antarctic, the novel Not a Self-Help Book: The Misadventures of Marty Wu, and the micro memoir Pin Ups.Learn more about Yi Shun at thegooddirt.org and follower her on social media @yishunlai.In this episode, we talk about: How to reconfigure the fireworks Arrival fallacy Money Privilege And being kind to yourself.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com

"I would say my books are about three quarters research and sort of mining my research, and then one quarter writing," says Hampton Sides, author of several New York Times bestselling works of narrative history, including his latest, now in paperback, The Wide Wide Sea. It's published by Doubleday.So Hampton was great. There was a moment halfway through where my dogs got to barking, then howling, which made me give them a stern talkin' to. I think I edited that out. I should have. Hope I did. I can tolerate a little barking in the background, but the howling is obnoxious. Hampton got a laugh out of all of it … He's the author of eight books including In the Kingdom of Ice, Hellhound on his Trail, and Ghost Soldiers.Here we talk about: How he found his lane of book writing Of transitioning from a journalist to a popular historian Finding the frame Writing in coffee shops Running to the computer in the middle of the night And an April Fool's Day joke gone horribly wrongLearn more about Hampton at hamptonsides.com and follow him on the gram @hamptonsidesauthor.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmWelcome to Pitch ClubShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Maureen Stanton joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about her writing beginnings in fiction and using the scenic and immersive to move readers, falling in love with creative nonfiction, revisiting and recreating a love story, discovering the question behind her book, facing the blank page, bad first drafts, writing an illness narrative, placing an essay in Modern Love, authenticity on the page, the long winding path to publishing, not thinking your book will ever get published, working on multiple projects while querying, how love evolves, and her new memoir The Murmur of Everything Moving.   Also in this episode: -the fog of grief -killing our darlings -submitting to writing contests   Books mentioned in this episode: -Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott -Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt -The Liar's Club by Mary Karr -This Boys Life by Tobias Wolff  -Argonauts by Maggie Nelson -Barbarian Days by William Finnegan   Maureen Stanton is the author of The Murmur of Everything Moving: A Memoir, winner of the Donald L. Jordan Prize for Literary Excellence; Body Leaping Backward: Memoir of a Delinquent Girlhood, winner of the Maine Literary Award for memoir and a People Magazine "Best Books Pick"; and Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: An Insider's Look at the World of Flea Markets, Antiques, and Collecting, winner of the Massachusetts Book Award in nonfiction and a Parade Magazine "12 Great Summer Books" selection. Her nonfiction has been widely published, including in The New York Times, Fourth Genre, Creative Nonfiction, Longreads, New England Review, Florida Review, River Teeth, The Sun and many others. Her essays have received the Iowa Review prize, The Sewanee Review prize, Pushcart Prizes, the American Literary Review award, and the Thomas J. Hruska award from Passages North. She's been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maine Arts Commission, the MacDowell Colony, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She teaches creative writing at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and lives in Maine.    Connect with Maureen: Website: https://www.maureenstantonwriter.com LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/maureenstanton41 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maureenstanton41 Threads: https://www.threads.com/@maureenstanton41 LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/maureen-stanton-6693ab11  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maureen.p.stanton Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/maureenstanton.bsky.social   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

"I talked to my wife, and she was like, 'You're probably tired. You've been writing this book non stop for six months, and you probably just need a break. Like, go get a gelato and chill out.' And I was like, 'I can't,' then I was like, 'All right, fine, I will.' And then I ate a bunch of ice cream and watched the Pam Anderson documentary on Netflix in the middle of the day. And after, I don't know, four or five days, I had an idea, and I was like, ready to get back to work," says Melissa Febos on Episode 472.Melissa is the author of five books of nonfiction, including her latest, The Dry Season: A Memoir of Pleasure in a Year Without Sex (Knopf).In this conversation, we talk about: Writing in community Literary stardom Being a weirdo Wile E. Coyote The jealousy dragon The theory of bottoms And the liberation of quitting thingsReally rich stuff. You can learn more about Melissa at melissafebos.com and follow her on IG @melissafebos.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.com

"We are sort of drinking from a fire hose of content right now. And it makes me wonder, because I feel like I'm stuck on this wheel that I have to produce all the time. Do I even want to write for money anymore? I don't know," says Cassidy Randall, author of the book Thirty Below, and back for her second Atavist story "The Longest Journey."Writing is in her bones, so she's not quitting, but the freelance production wheel is tough.We talk about: The productivity wheel Earning trust for stories Constructing a headline and subhead to focus a story And how best to immerse readers in a storyLearn more about Cassidy at cassidyrandall.com and @cassidyrandall on Instagram.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.com

It is quite interesting to see women lead the charge in revolutionizing regenerative agriculture, which is a male-dominated space. They are bringing a brand-new approach to raising awareness about social justice, gaining mostly the attention and interest of youth. Corinna Bellizzi chats with Stephanie Anderson, an award-winning journalist, who utilizes storytelling to bring regenerative farming practices to the mainstream. She explains why diversity is needed to minimize soil disturbance, make nutritious food easily accessible to the public, and empower local farmers and businesses. Stephanie also discusses how to go through the challenges of transitioning to regenerative agriculture, creating a better perception of profit, and voting for pro-environment politicians.About Guest:Stephanie Anderson is the author of From the Ground Up: The Women Revolutionizing Regenerative Agriculture (The New Press, 2024). Her work has appeared in The Rumpus, TriQuarterly, Flyway, Hotel Amerika, Terrain.org, The Chronicle Review, Sweet and others. Stephanie is the 2020 winner of the Margolis Award for social justice journalism and a co-editor for the University of Nebraska Press “Our Regenerative Future” book series. Her debut nonfiction book, titled One Size Fits None: A Farm Girl's Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture, won a 2020 Nautilus Award and 2019 Midwest Book Award. Stephanie holds an MFA from Florida Atlantic University, where she serves as Assistant Professor of Creative Nonfiction.Guest Website: https://StephanieAndersonWriting.comGuest Social: https://instagram.com/stephanieandersonwritinghttps://facebook.com/stephanieandersonwritingShow Notes: Raw audio00:03:27 - A Farm Girl's Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture00:06:34 - Achieving Diversity In Regeneration00:11:46 - How Women Embody Regeneration Beyond Soil00:19:00 - How To Finance Regenerative Agriculture Efforts00:22:28 - Using Storytelling To Convey The Message Better00:26:47 - Common Threads Among Women Regenerative Leaders00:30:50 - What Capital Is Left For Regenerative Farming00:35:02 - Greater Women Participation In Agriculture00:39:18 - Changing Perspectives On Profit And Supporting Local Businesses00:49:46 - Breaking Down A Big Problem Into Smaller Parts00:51:59 - Getting Into The Justice Ecology00:53:33 - Voting For Pro-Environment Individuals00:57:04 - Stephanie's Next Projects00:59:11 - Episode Wrap-up And Closing WordsJOIN OUR CIRCLE. BUILD A GREENER FUTURE:

"I've also learned in this rewilding experiment that so much of our time as writers takes place off the page, as we're thinking about our concepts, as we're doing research, and when I actually do come to the page and have a chance to actually type out these ideas, I've done so much pre-writing over the course of the previous season that that draft comes really easily to me," says Megan Baxter, author of three books of nonfiction, including Farm Girl: A Memoir (Green Writers Press).Megan has got it figured out, man. She has won numerous national awards, including a Pushcart Prize. Her essay collection Twenty Square Feet of Skin was longlisted for the 2024 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Megan got on my radar when I was doing Prefontaine research and I was thumbing through my stack of True Stories, that chapbook Creative Nonfiction used to put out. I saw this essay titled “On Running” and I was like well shoot, I need to study this. Then I reached out to her and she sent me her essay collections and her memoir Farm Girl, so we dig into that.Megan's work has appeared in The Threepenny Review, Hotel Amerika, River Teeth, and others. She lives in New Hampshire where she runs her own small farm and teaches creative writing through online courses and lessons. You can learn more about her at meganbaxterwriting.com and follow her on Instagram megan-baxter We talk about: Rewilding her writing Rabbit holes Actually living the ream Hyperattention The real housewives edit And how Pinterest helps with her writingOrder The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.com

"I don't feel envy. I don't think. Maybe in some deeper and maybe even more troubling psychological level. I do feel competition with with people, competition over resources, trying to claim certain ideas, stake a claim to certain ideas before other people can, especially when you're working with the subject that's in the public sphere. You don't have any personal, any real wider claim to something than somebody else. It can be nerve wracking," says John O'Connor, author of The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster (Source Books).John returns to talk about his first book, tackling the mythology of Bigfoot and the psyche of those who believe. He talks about writing with humor, making himself the butt of most jokes, and trafficking in a subculture that many — including John — are skeptical of.Find more about him at johnmoconnor.com and follow him on Instagram @centerforhighenergymetaphysics.Order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Our guest this week is Rebekah Taussig of Shawnee, KS who is a mother, wife, author, podcast host, outspoken advocate for those with disability and who, herself is a paraplegic.  Rebekah and her husband, Micah have been married for seven years and are the proud parents of Otto, who is typical five year old. Rebekah was diagnosed with spine cancer at age one and due to multiple surgeries lost her ability to walk at age four.  She was the youngest of six children and despite her disability, still slept on the top bunk upstairs in her family home.  She credits much of her success and resilience to her parents and siblings, who didn't treat her any differently.  Prior to Otto's birth, Rebekah was a high school English and Literature teacher.  Rebekah combined her PhD in Creative Non-Fiction & Disability Studies from University of Kansas, with her passion for writing to author Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary, Resilient Disabled Body (2020). and more recently, a children's book entitled: We Are the Scrappy Ones (2025).More recently Rebekah has partnered with Caitlin Metz to host the Scratch That: Parenting & Re-Parenting Off Script Podcast, now with more than 50 episodes. It's an uplifting story about family and a woman's resilience all on this episode of the SFN Dad To Dad Podcast. Show Notes -Phone – (913) 940-1714Email – rebekahgracetaussig@gmail.comLinkedIn –  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebekah-g-taussig-458668139/Website - https://www.rebekahtaussig.com/Books - Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary, Resilient Disabled Body - https://tinyurl.com/mv4nc9tkWe Are The Scrappy Ones - https://tinyurl.com/49h7rdb4Special Fathers Network -SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 800+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there was something like this when we first received our child's diagnosis. I felt so isolated.  There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through."SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations.Check out the 21CD YouTube Channel with dozens of videos on topics relevant to dads raising children with special needs - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDFCvQimWNEb158ll6Q4cA/videosPlease support the SFN. Click here to donate: https://21stcenturydads.org/donate/Special Fathers Network: https://21stcenturydads.org/  SFN Mastermind Group - https://21stcenturydads.org/sfn-mastermind-group/

Maureen Stanton's new memoir, The Murmur of Everything Moving (Columbus State University 2025) opens when she was in her early twenties, working at a bar saving for a backpacking trip through Europe. She meets and falls for Steve, an electrician who at 27 is the father of three children going through a divorce. They are deeply in love, now back in Michigan close to Steve's children, when he's diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer that has metastasized throughout his body. In beautiful prose, Stanton describes the medical challenges, Steve's physical and psychological pain, and the heartache they face knowing that his time is limited while trying to defy the odds. This is a moving story of human fragility, resilience, and the different forms love can take. Maureen Stanton is also the author of Body Leaping Backward: Memoir of a Delinquent Girlhood, winner of a Maine Literary Award and a People Magazine "Best Books Pick"; and Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: An Insider's Look at the World of Flea Markets, Antiques, and Collecting, winner of a Massachusetts Book Award and a Parade Magazine "12 Great Summer Books" selection. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, Fourth Genre, Creative Nonfiction, Longreads, New England Review and elsewhere, and has been recognized with the Iowa Review prize, the Sewanee Review prize, and Pushcart Prizes. She's received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maine Arts Commission, and the MacDowell Colony. She teaches at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and lives in Maine. When she's not reading, writing, or teaching, she enjoys swimming (ponds, tidal rivers, lakes, and the ocean), foraging for wild mushrooms, baking, and haunting flea markets. www.maureenstantonwriter.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

Maureen Stanton's new memoir, The Murmur of Everything Moving (Columbus State University 2025) opens when she was in her early twenties, working at a bar saving for a backpacking trip through Europe. She meets and falls for Steve, an electrician who at 27 is the father of three children going through a divorce. They are deeply in love, now back in Michigan close to Steve's children, when he's diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer that has metastasized throughout his body. In beautiful prose, Stanton describes the medical challenges, Steve's physical and psychological pain, and the heartache they face knowing that his time is limited while trying to defy the odds. This is a moving story of human fragility, resilience, and the different forms love can take. Maureen Stanton is also the author of Body Leaping Backward: Memoir of a Delinquent Girlhood, winner of a Maine Literary Award and a People Magazine "Best Books Pick"; and Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: An Insider's Look at the World of Flea Markets, Antiques, and Collecting, winner of a Massachusetts Book Award and a Parade Magazine "12 Great Summer Books" selection. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, Fourth Genre, Creative Nonfiction, Longreads, New England Review and elsewhere, and has been recognized with the Iowa Review prize, the Sewanee Review prize, and Pushcart Prizes. She's received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maine Arts Commission, and the MacDowell Colony. She teaches at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and lives in Maine. When she's not reading, writing, or teaching, she enjoys swimming (ponds, tidal rivers, lakes, and the ocean), foraging for wild mushrooms, baking, and haunting flea markets. www.maureenstantonwriter.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Maureen Stanton's new memoir, The Murmur of Everything Moving (Columbus State University 2025) opens when she was in her early twenties, working at a bar saving for a backpacking trip through Europe. She meets and falls for Steve, an electrician who at 27 is the father of three children going through a divorce. They are deeply in love, now back in Michigan close to Steve's children, when he's diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer that has metastasized throughout his body. In beautiful prose, Stanton describes the medical challenges, Steve's physical and psychological pain, and the heartache they face knowing that his time is limited while trying to defy the odds. This is a moving story of human fragility, resilience, and the different forms love can take. Maureen Stanton is also the author of Body Leaping Backward: Memoir of a Delinquent Girlhood, winner of a Maine Literary Award and a People Magazine "Best Books Pick"; and Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: An Insider's Look at the World of Flea Markets, Antiques, and Collecting, winner of a Massachusetts Book Award and a Parade Magazine "12 Great Summer Books" selection. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, Fourth Genre, Creative Nonfiction, Longreads, New England Review and elsewhere, and has been recognized with the Iowa Review prize, the Sewanee Review prize, and Pushcart Prizes. She's received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maine Arts Commission, and the MacDowell Colony. She teaches at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and lives in Maine. When she's not reading, writing, or teaching, she enjoys swimming (ponds, tidal rivers, lakes, and the ocean), foraging for wild mushrooms, baking, and haunting flea markets. www.maureenstantonwriter.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

In this episode of Meet the Farmers, Ben Eagle is joined by US author and journalist Stephanie Anderson to discuss the transformative role women are playing in regenerative agriculture. Stephanie's latest book, From the Ground Up: The Women Revolutionizing Regenerative Agriculture, shines a spotlight on female farmers and changemakers who are rethinking how we grow food in the face of climate change.From battling conventional norms to pioneering new practices rooted in sustainability and equity, these women are proving that leadership in agriculture can be diverse, resilient, and regenerative. Stephanie shares intimate stories, key insights from her research, and her vision for a more just and climate-conscious food system.Guest:

"I genuinely feel that those of us writing books need to remember that we are writing them simply because we feel the desperate need to write that particular thing. And unless I feel that way, I shouldn't be writing it because it's not for the financial benefit. It is not because it gives me more time to do things with other people. It doesn't matter how many books or lengthy features you write, it's all kind of a painful process. So you have to do it because you're really invested in the things that you are focused on," says Maggie Messitt, author of Newspaper and The Rainy Season.Maggie is a professor and a journalist and an author. She's was the founding national director for Report for America and currently is the Norman Eberly professor of practice in journalism. Find more about her at maggiemessitt.com and follow her on Instagram @maggiemessitt.Pre-order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.com

KB Brookins joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about transness, masculinity, and race, how how being a writer has crystalized their experience and made it legible to an audience and to themselves, turning to prose to say the hard things, the tenacity of memoir, resisting erasure and pushing back on toxic systems, coming at creative nonfiction from a poetic impulse, having patience with ourselves, what we might need to let go of as writers, looking at our work with kinder eyes, the way we treat people because of gender, and their multi-themed memoir Pretty. Also in this episode: -stages of grief -permission to have anger -when lines for genre aren't as helpful   Books mentioned in this episode: -Asatta: An Autobiography by Asatta Shakur -Black Boy by Richard Wright -Heavy by Kiese Laymon KB Brookins is a Black queer and trans writer, cultural worker, and visual artist from Texas. KB's chapbook How To Identify Yourself with a Wound won the Saguaro Poetry Prize, a Writer's League of Texas Discovery Prize, and a Stonewall Honor Book Award. Their debut poetry collection Freedom House won the American Library Association Barbara Gittings Literature Award and the Texas Institute of Letters Award for the Best First Book of Poetry. KB's debut memoir Pretty, released in May 2024 with Alfred A. Knopf, won the Great Lakes Colleges Association Award in Creative Non-Fiction.   Connect with KB: Website: https://earthtokb.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthtokb TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earthtokb Substack: https://substack.com/@earthtokb Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/earthtokb.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/earthtokb Get the book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724994/pretty-by-kb-brookins/ – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

On the heels of Mother's Day, tune into Memoir Nation this week for a conversation about *mother as character*—among many other potential characters any one of us might be on the page. Guest Nicole Graev Lipson explores the idea of where fiction ends and truth begins when you're a woman through this fascinating conversation prompted by her recent memoir-in-essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters. If you've ever thought about the boundaries between truth and fiction as a writer or a reader, or the confines certain roles limit women to or within—girl, mother, wife—you won't want to miss this episode. Nicole Graev Lipson is the author of the memoir-in-essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters. Her writing has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, selected for The Best American Essays anthology, and shortlisted for a National Magazine Award. Her work has appeared in The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Gettysburg Review, Creative Nonfiction, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, Alaska Quarterly Review, LA Review of Books, The Millions, Nylon, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe, among other publications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Mythology can be really a dangerous thing, because mythology feels like it can't be changed, or it's always been something," says Katie Goh, author of Foreign Fruit: A Personal History of the Orange (Tin House Books).Katie Goh is a writer and editor based out of Edinburgh, Scotland. She's also the author of the slim book “The End: Surviving the World through Imagined Disasters” about disaster movies. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, Extra Teeth, and VICE. You can learn more about her at katiegoh.co.uk or follow her on IG @katie_goh. In this conversation we tackle: The love of being edited Having to selfish to be a writer Finding obsessions Issues of identity Style and voice And the trappings of mythologyPodcast Specific Substack at creativenonfictionpodcast.substrack.com.Pre-order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Will Bardenwerper grew up playing baseball and even was a member of his college team at Princeton. As a result, he has a great perspective to write about baseball as he does in Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America (Doubleday).That soul, in this book, is partially under attack from private equity firms gobbling up and eradicating minor league baseball teams. It's just one of the many threads of Will's wonderful book.Podcast Specific Substack at creativenonfictionpodcast.substrack.com.Pre-order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Nicole and Rachael talk about what success might look like on any given (changing) day, as well as how to find trust in ourselves as writers, accessing solitude, and how taking ourselves seriously is a deep kindness. NICOLE GRAEV LIPSON is the author of the memoir-in-essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters. Her writing has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, selected for The Best American Essays anthology, and shortlisted for a National Magazine Award. Her work has appeared in The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Gettysburg Review, Creative Nonfiction, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, Alaska Quarterly Review, LA Review of Books, The Millions, Nylon, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe, among other publications. Nicole holds a BA from Cornell University and an MFA from Emerson College. Originally from New York City, she lives outside of Boston with her family.Books mentioned: John Kenny - I See You've Called in DeadBrenda Ueland - If You Want to Write

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcomeToday's guest is Deborah Derrickson Kossmann, author of Lost Found Kept: A Memoir. In this episode, we dive into the premise of Deborah's debut memoir, how she landed her publisher, and what she learned from working with a small press. Follow Deborah on Instagram @deb_derrickson_kossmann.Submit to Trio House Press's 2025 Aurora Polaris Award in Creative Nonfiction by May 15th: https://triohousepress.submittable.com/submit/319805/2025-aurora-polaris-award-in-creative-nonfictionThe Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Instagram @courtneykocak and Bluesky @courtneykocak.bsky.social. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.Courtney is teaching some upcoming workshops you might be interested in:The Multi-Passionate Writer's Life: https://writingworkshops.com/products/the-multi-passionate-writers-life-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocakHow to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought: https://writingworkshops.com/products/how-to-build-a-platform-for-writers-who-shudder-at-the-thought-zoom-seminarCreating Your Podcast: https://www.roadmapwriters.com/products/creating-your-podcast-0Podcasting for Writers: How to Start, Sustain & Grow Your Podcast: https://writingworkshops.com/products/podcasting-for-writers-how-to-start-sustain-grow-your-podcast-4-week-zoom-workshopStart a Newsletter to Supercharge Your Platform, Network and Business: https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-a-newsletter-to-supercharge-your-platform-network-business-zoom-seminarLand Big Bylines by Writing for Columns: https://writingworkshops.com/products/land-big-bylines-by-writing-for-columns-zoom-seminar

197 To celebrate Melanie and Nadine's collaborative masterclass, Publishing Your Stories, on May 13, we're bringing back this chat with Melanie Brooks. If you can't make it live, you can still register and catch the replay.---Many of us have carried at least one hard story for years, suffering under the weight of secrecy and silence. But what if you didn't have to carry it anymore? What if writing or telling it could not only free you, but deepen your relationships with your loved ones? Melanie Brooks--author of Writing Hard Stories and A Hard Silence--is here to help us write and tell our hard stories. Covered in this episode:The life changing impact that Writing Hard Stories had on NadineMelanie's surprising experiences with renowned authors as she researched her bookThe benefits of writing a hard story How and why it gets easierWhat you discover when you're writing hard stories and how it's able to help you processThe phases we go throughout when telling hard stories What prompted Nadine to write and publish her hard storyThe 2 books Nadine reread while writing her memoirThe hard silence Melanie had to keep for almost 10 yrsThe long term impact of not being able to speak your truthWhat helps us stay centered while writing hard stories The guilty pleasure TV show that Melanie and Nadine both watch when they need to escape How it felt for Melanie and Nadine to have their vulnerable books be published What it was like for both writers to write about real life characters and what their family's reactions wereWhat narrative medicine is and how it's changing health care Hear Melanie read a moving passage that gives anyone permission to share their hard story About Melanie:IG: melaniejmbrookswriterwebsite: melaniebrooks.comMelanie Brooks is the author of the memoir A Hard Silence: One daughter remaps family, grief, and faith when HIV/AIDS changes it all (Vine Leaves Press, 2023) and Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art from Trauma (Beacon Press, 2017) She teaches creative nonfiction in the M.F.A. program at Bay Path University and in the M.F.A. program at Western Connecticut State University and professional writing at Northeastern University. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Southern Maine's Stonecoast writing program and a Certificate in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. She has had numerous interviews and essays on topics ranging from loss and grief to parenting and aging published in the The Boston Globe, HuffPost, Yankee Magazine, Psychology Today, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, Creative Nonfiction, and other notable publications. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, two children (when they are home from university), and chocolate Lab.About Nadine:Nadine Kenney Johnstone is a holistic writing coach who helps women develop and publish their stories. She is the proud founder of WriteWELL, an online community that helps women reclaim their writing time, put pen to page, and get published. The authors in her community have published countless books and hundreds of essays in places like The New York Times, Vogue, The Sun, The Boston Globe, Longreads, and more. Her infertility memoir,

"You want to be able to nab the details, but then you also want to be able to tell the story of why this matters and who's harmed by this, and finding the harm is oftentimes the hardest part of investigative reporting," Miranda Green, an investigative reporter.Her latest piece is for The Atavist Magazine titled "All That Glitters" about the seedy underbelly of diamond sales, crypto, and sports ticketing and the man at the center of it all.In this conversation, we talk about: How she earns trust How she navigates background The structure of the piece Finding the harm in an investigative story And her routine (or lack of one)Podcast Specific Substack at creativenonfictionpodcast.substrack.com.Pre-order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.com

"Never let anyone tell you that you're old," says Dag Aabaye, an 83-year-old super athlete who defies age. He runs two to six hours daily in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley, where he lives alone on a mountain. For him, running is “life itself." Blizzards, heat waves, even running 24 hours straight Until he met Aabaye, Brett Popplewell used to dread growing old. But now the sports journalist says he has reframed his thoughts about life, death, and the limits placed on us as we age. Popplewell chronicles Aabaye's life from childhood to being a stuntman and extreme athlete in his book, Outsider: An Old Man, a Mountain and the Search for a Hidden Past — winner of the 2024 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction. Last month, Popplewell accepted his literary prize and delivered a public talk at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.

"It's kind of a mix of reporting to the very last minute to put off writing, and then when I have to write, having a panic attack, and then, like, booking a hotel room for a week and not leaving that room. This is the thing I have done until I figure it out," says Leah Sottile, in a live event at Gratitude Brewing.She is the author of Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age (Grand Central). She's also the author of When the Moon Turns to Blood, an Oregon Book Award Finalist.Leah is a freelance journalism whose work has appeared in The Atavist Magazine, the Washing Post, High Country News, and Outisde. She's the creator of the podcasts Hush, Burn Wild, and Bundyville. In this podcast we talk about: The work of John Vaillant (See Ep. 376( How writing this book made Leah crazy How New Ageism and Far Right Extremism overlap Sagging Middles And not re-victimizing sources And much more…Learn more about Leah at leahsottile.com and follower her on Instagram @leah.sottile.Podcast Specific Substack at creativenonfictionpodcast.substrack.com.Pre-order The Front RunnerNewsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.com

Send us a textAudio version of an essay I wrote for a Creative Non-Fiction class. **Trigger Warning**Support the show

Welcome back to Drafting the Past. I'm Kate Carpenter, and this is a podcast about the craft of writing history. In this episode, I'm joined by historian and writer Dr. Surekha Davies. Surekha is a former history professor who now writes full-time, and she can also be found speaking about history and consulting on monsters. In fact, monsters have played a major role in much of her research. Her first award-winning book was titled Renaissance Ethnography and the Invention of the Human: New Worlds, Maps, and Monsters. Her second book, which is aimed at a general audience, is out now; it's called Humans: A Monstrous History. The book looks at, as she puts it, how people “have defined the human in relation to everything from apes to zombies, and how they invented race, gender, and nations along the way.” I spoke with Surekha about how she made the switch to full-time writing, her newsletter, Notes from an Everything Historian, and how she organized what could have been an unruly book. Enjoy my conversation with Dr. Surekha Davies.

Send us a textHi everybody and welcome to today's episode of Attendance Bias. I am your host, Brian Weinstein. Today, we have a returning guest: published author Rachael Wesley, who–as of today–has released her memoir, “Second Set Chances,” published by Vine Leaves Press. The last time Rachael was on Attendance Bias, about three years ago, she was working on the sixth draft of what would become Second Set Chances. At the time, she didn't have much to say about the memoir, as it was still very much a work in progress. Instead, we focused on her favorite genre of writing–Creative Nonfiction–and we went deep into talking about the version of “Simple” from 8/29/14 at Dick's.But this time is a bit different. Rachael is back, and Second Set Chances is available at her website, RachaelWesley.com and at VineLeavesPress.com. You'll hear how Rachael took these last three years to make her story become a fully published work. Just as importantly for THIS podcast, you'll also hear us break down Down with Disease into Carini from December 29. 2013 at Madison Square Garden; an incredible sequence that capped off the best year of 3.0 to that point, and two jams that hold up 12 years later.So let's join Rachael to talk about Second Set chances, DNA strands, and the best flavors of La Croix as we discuss Down with Disease into Carini from Madison Square Garden on December 29, 2013. 

Students appreciate it when there's less academic rules and expectations for writing. Here's how to assign a creative nonfiction essay on a topic of choice.

About the authorBarbara de la Cuesta has taught English literature and Spanish on the secondary and college levels. She is currently teaching English as a Second Language. She has a Master's Degree in Creative Non Fiction from Lesley College in Massachusetts, 1989.She has published stories in the California Quarterly, the Texas Review, and The New Ohio Review,. Her first novel, The Spanish Teacher, was winner of the Gival Press Fiction Prize in 2007. Rosa, a novel about a Honduran immigrant, was winner of the Driftless Series award from Brain Mill Press, The Mists, set in Central America, and My Name is Henrietta Rose, set in the basements of AA, were published by Finishing Line Press. Her latest works, published this year, are Adams Chair, a novel in verse about the City of Waltham, Massachusetts, site of historic immigration, as well as Life Drawing, a collection of stories about art and artists, published by Austin MacCauly. She has received fiction fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Foundation, and, more recently, from The New Jersey Council on the Arts. She has also received a Geraldine Dodge fellowship to the Virginia Center, and to the Millay Colony.For more info on the book click HERE

Send us a textEp 587: The Healing Power of Smut Part 3: The Positive Effects of Reading Smut on Women's Sexuality, Empowerment, Pleasure, Confidence, Body Positivity and Healing with reader and writer Emmie Florence. Topics Discussed: Erotica Authors, Creative Nonfiction, Female Empowerment, Kink Communities, Smut Journey, Women's Sexuality, Body Positivity, Fantasy Exploration, Community Building, Sexual Liberation, Reading Smut, Diverse Erotica, Empowering Narratives, Female Pleasure, Smut Recommendations, Non-Judgmental Spaces, Emotional HealingGuest Bio:M. Florence is a Midwestern, GenX multi-genre writer. She works, teaches, and (sometimes) writes. Her work has been published in Prairie Home Magazine and Bending Genres. She holds a PhD in smut reading and is ready to talk all things monster and dark romance. You can find her chatting up smut writers at @mflorence.bsky.social.Kink 22: https://www.ryn-rehnard.com/guest-writers/2159247_kink-22-by-m-florence-nswfErotic short: https://prairiehomemag.com/lower/Episode Summary:In this exciting episode of Oh F*ck Yeah, Ruan Willow, it's a deep dive into the transformative world of erotica with the talented writer Emmie Florence. Together, they explore the healing power of smut, discussing how reading and writing erotic literature can empower women and foster self-acceptance. Emmie shares her personal journey and reads her provocative piece, "Kink 22," which captures the complexities of desire and submission.The discussion challenges societal norms surrounding female sexuality, celebrates the diversity of erotic literature, and highlight the importance of community within the smut world. From recommendations of must-read smutty erotica authors to the liberating experience of embracing one's desires, this episode is a heartfelt conversation about finding joy and empowerment through the written word. And above all, pleasure.Episode Timeline:00:00 - New series, The Healing Power of Smut00:57 - Emmie Florence talks about the healing power of smut07:18 - The diversity within smut or erotica or dark romance is incredible08:32 - Being a woman isn't just one thing09:57 - The level of acceptance in the smut community is much greater than traditional book groups13:41 - Reading erotica has given me a better relationship with my body18:49 - The last piece of this is, I think, the trickiest part21:36 - One thing I really love to focus on in my writing is female pleasure25:30 - The more smut you can read, the betterNarration of Emma's Policy mentioned in the podcast episode: https://books.ruanwillowauthor.com/emmaspolicyaudiobookSeason's Teasings: Snowbound Seductions Anthology a collection of erotic fiction (affiliate links): https://books.ruanwillowauthor.com/seasonsteasingssnowboundseductionsSupport the showSubscribe for exclusives: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1599808/subscribeSign up for Ruan's newsletters: https://subscribepage.io/ruanwillowhttps://linktr.ee/RuanWillowI Dare You book https://books.ruanwillowauthor.com/idareyouthesaturdaysexchallenge NO AI TRAINING

“I could suddenly see — and this is how I know when I'm supposed to start writing — is that words start putting themselves together in my head, and I just have to get them out, right? Which doesn't happen all the time, but it did for this," says Cassidy Randall, author of Thirty Below: The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All Women's Ascent of Denali (Abrams Books).Cassidy's work has appeared in National Geographic, the New York Times, Outside Magazine, The Atavist, and many, many others.In this episode we talk about: The beginning and ending Sticky notes The post-book funk Interviewing And so much morePodcast Specific SubstackPre-order The Front RunnerPromotional Sponsor: The Power of Narrative Conference. Use CNF15 at checkout for a 15% discount.Newsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Laurie Lico Albanese and ANastasia Rubis discuss reading and writing historical fiction.Laurie Lico Albanese is a historical novelist, most recently of the acclaimed novel Hester,  which gives voice to Hester Prynne in a retelling of The Scarlet Letter. Hester was a Book of the Month club selection and an Audible and Goodreads Best Books of 2022. Laurie's previous historical novels include Stolen Beauty, about the famed Gustav Klimt portrait known as The Lady in Gold. She lives in Montclair with her husband, where they raised their two grown children. She writes for New Jersey Monthly, teaches writing, and is at work on a new novel.Anastasia Rubis' writing has appeared in the New York Times, Huffington Post, New York Observer, and literary journals. One of her stories, “Girl Falling,” was named a Notable Essay in Best American Essays of 2014. Another, “Blue Pools,” was included in the anthology Oh, Baby published by Creative Nonfiction. She co-wrote and co-directed a 13-minute documentary titled Breakfast Lunch Dinner: The Greek Diner Story. Her latest work, Oriana, is a novel based on the life of journalist Oriana Fallaci. Rubis earned a BA magna cum laude from Brown University and an MA from Montclair State University. She teaches memoir writing and is working on a second novel. She and her husband live in Montclair, where they raised their daughter, and spend summers in Greece, where their parents were born.Books:A full list of the books and authors mentioned in this episode is available here. Register for Upcoming Events.The Watchung Booksellers Podcast is produced by Kathryn Counsell and Marni Jessup and is recorded at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ. The show is edited by Kathryn Counsell. Original music is composed and performed by Violet Mujica. Art & design and social media by Evelyn Moulton. Research and show notes by Caroline Shurtleff. Thanks to all the staff at Watchung Booksellers and The Kids' Room! If you liked our episode please like, follow, and share! Stay in touch!Email: wbpodcast@watchungbooksellers.comSocial: @watchungbooksellersSign up for our newsletter to get the latest on our shows, events, and book recommendations!

Erika Krouse writes fiction and nonfiction.   Her book Tell me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigationwon the Colorado Book Award for Creative Nonfiction and the 2023 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime.  Erika's novel, Contenders, was a finalist for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Her previous short story collection Come Up and See Me Sometime, won the Paterson Fiction Award, was a New York Times Notable Book of the year, and is translated into six languages. Her new short story collection is Save Me, Stranger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"And then this person said, 'Hey, you know, this needs to be, like, more weird or less weird, but it's in this kind of odd place that isn't working.' And I was like, she's so, right," says Jaydra Johnson, @jaydranicole, and author of Low: Notes on Art & Trash (Fonograf).Lots of good stuff in this episode. We talk about: Luck Growing up poor Dialing up the weirdness And binge-buying books on eBayPodcast Specific SubstackPre-order The Front RunnerPromotional Sponsor: The Power of Narrative Conference. Use CNF15 at checkout for a 15% discount.Newsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

Chandlor Henderson is the very definition of a multi-hypenate: a writer, editor, comic book writer, filmmaker, and podcaster.This conversation was recorded live at Gratitude Brewing as part of a quarterly series between the Oregon Writers Colony and The Creative Nonfiction Podcast. In this conversation we talk about his journey to Oregon from the East Coast, to focus on skills, and how graphic novels are a great vector for storytelling.Pre-order The Front RunnerPromotional Sponsor: The Power of Narrative Conference. Use CNF15 at checkout for a 15% discount.Newsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

Allegra Rosenberg became obsessed with polar exploration narratives during the pandemic. She soon came across the journals of Harry Pennell and learned of his love for Edward Atkinson. Set amongst the backdrop of the South Pole and the looming possibility of WWI, Allegra weaves a brilliant and tragic story.Pre-order The Front RunnerPromotional Sponsor: The Power of Narrative Conference. Use CNF15 at checkout for a 15% discount.Newsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

This week on Everything You Didn't Know About Herbalism, we joined by the award-winning author who is on a literary mission to amplify the voices of the women combatting climate change through regenerative agriculture, Stephanie Anderson. Tune in as Stephanie shares what it means to be a women working within our industrialized food system, inspiring stories from diverse female farmers who are riding a green wave of change, and what inspired Stephanie to write her latest book, From the Ground Up: The Women Revolutionizing Regenerative Agriculture.  We hope this episode provides our listeners with takeaways on how the resilient women within our food system offer an instrumental perspective towards building a future of socially responsible and sustainable food. As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Send us an email at podcast@mountainroseherbs.com to let us know what solutions we should uncover within the vast world of herbalism next. Learn more about Stephanie below! ⬇

John Eisenberg grew up surrounded by books. It was no surprise then that he wanted to write them one day. He has written eleven, his latest being Rocket Men: The Black Quarterbacks Who Revolutionized Pro Football.Pre-order The Front RunnerSponsor: The Power of Narrative Conference. Use CNF15 at checkout for a 15% discount.Newsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

Welcome to Protecting Your Nest with Dr. Tony Hampton. Sam Apple is on the faculty of the MA in Science Writing and MA in Writing programs at Johns Hopkins. Prior to his arrival at Johns Hopkins, Apple taught creative writing and journalism at the University of Pennsylvania for ten years. He holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University. He is the author of Ravenous: Otto Warburg, the Nazis, and the Search for the Cancer-Diet Connection. In this discussion, Dr. Tony and Sam talk about: (00:00) Intro (02:32) Why Sam is a writer and why he decided to write non-fiction (04:23) How Sam and his sister, Jessica—the co-founder of The Metabolic Revolution—became interested in metabolic health (07:00) The book that Sam wrote with Jayson Tatum (09:31) What got Sam into basketball (12:55) Why Sam chose to research and write about the cancer-diet connection (14:34) The Warburg Effect (17:17) Awareness in culture about how cancer can be prevented with nutrition/diet (21:15) Why sugar consumption puts you at a higher risk for cancer and how we can use it without running serious health risks (24:51) Who Sam's book, Ravenous: Otto Warburg, the Nazis, and the Search for the Cancer-Diet Connection, is for (28:23) The writing process for articles versus books (30:35) The power of stories and how Sam's book advances awareness about metabolic health   Thank you for listening to Protecting Your Nest. For additional resources and information, please see the links below.   Links:   Resources Mentioned in this Episode: The Metabolic Revolution: https://www.metabolicrevolution.org Petition to Ban Ultra-Processed Foods from School Meals: https://petition.qomon.org/healthy-futures-ban-ultra-processed-foods-from-school-lunches/ Gary Taubes (website): https://garytaubes.com/ Nina Teicholz (website): https://ninateicholz.com/   Sam Apple: Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001HMPI0M/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=9c72ad44-1a9a-41a3-921f-b3bee7d7ed18 Website: https://www.samapple.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samapplebooks/?hl=en X: https://x.com/Sam_Apple1   Dr. Tony Hampton: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/drtonyhampton Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/drtonyhampton/ LinkedIn Account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drtonyhampton/ Ritmos Negros Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ritmos-negros/id1534043495 Q Med: https://qmedcme.com Symposium for Metabolic Health Lectures: https://www.lowcarbusa.org/smhp-symposiums/san-diego-2022/ How Waking Up Every Day at 4:30 Can Change Your Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOEB1Fr0_MM • • Keto Mojo: https://keto-mojo.com/speakers/tony-hampton/

Drew Philp went to Ethiopia to report on the front lines of what was likely a genocide that largely went ignored. His story, "There Will Be No Mercy," is for The Atavist Magazine.Pre-order The Front RunnerSponsor: The Power of Narrative Conference. Use CNF15 at checkout for a 15% discount.Newsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod