Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of several books including "Tamed and Untamed," says, "I don't think I followed a very traditional pathway. I did what I felt like doing." What shenanigans are we up to here? It’s the Creative Nonfiction Podcast where I speak with the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction. Leaders in the worlds of narrative journalism, personal essay, memoir, radio, and documentary film come here to talk about their origins, inspirations, and work habits so tha...
Dec 15, 2017•57 min
"I have never picked the safe option and I have never regretted choosing what I've chosen ever," says Sy Montgomery. Hey there, CNFers, hope you're having a CNFin' good week. My, oh, my, where do we start? Maybe if you're new to the podcast I should let you know what it's about. This is the show where I speak to the world's best artists about creating works of nonfiction: leaders in narrative journalism (like Susan Orlean), personal essay (like Matthew Mercier), memoir (like Pulitzer Prize-winne...
Dec 08, 2017•1 hr 5 min
"For me, I'm thinking about the writing from the very first second I get an assignment," says Louisa Thomas, who made the 2017 volume for Best American Sports Writing. "I'm thinking about tone, and texture, and influences." I’m here to showcase the world’s best artists and how they create work of nonfiction so you can use their tools of master to improve your own work. Louisa Thomas joins me this week. She’s @louisahthomas on Twitter. She recently made the big book for The Best American Sports W...
Dec 02, 2017•1 hr 5 min
For episode 77, I welcome Blaire Briody, that’s @blairebriody on Twitter. She is a freelance journalist who has written for The New York Times, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Fast Company, Glamour, among others. Her first nonfiction book, The New Wild West: Black Gold, Fracking, and Life in a North Dakota Boomtown. The book was the 2016 finalist for the Lukas Work-in-Progress Award from Columbia Journalism School and Harvard University, and she received the Richard J. Margolis Award for soc...
Nov 24, 2017•46 min
“Joan Didion said ‘Writers are always selling people out’ and I have chafed against that because I don’t feel like I want to be," says Episode 76 guest Erica Berry. In a week where Creative Nonfiction reached its Kickstarter goal to support its monthly offshoot True Story, what better than to have the latest True Story author on the show? I’m your host Brendan O’Meara, and this is the Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak with leaders in narrative journalism, essay, memoir, radio, ...
Nov 17, 2017•1 hr 12 min
Chris Arvidson says, "There’s so much great real stuff happening that it seemed dumb to make up anything." What’s going on, CNFers? Before we get started I want to tease something. I have something I’d like to offer you loyal listeners and the thing is I could say it now, but I think I’m going to hold off until the very end of the show. Is that mean? That’s kinda mean isn’t it? Sorry about that…no I’m not… This week I welcome Chris Arvidson for Episode 75 of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the ...
Nov 10, 2017•50 min
Welcome back to another episode of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak with the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction to try and tease out the origins, habits, and routines so that you can apply their skills of mastery to your own work: narrative journalists, New York Times bestselling authors, award-winning filmmakers and, yes, even a Pulitzer Prize winner. Today’s guest is an extra special one: Madeleine Blais, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for feature writ...
Nov 03, 2017•53 min
Patsy Sims says, "The novel I always wanted to write didn't have to be fiction." No it didn't. Hey, CNFers, it's The Creative Nonfiction Podcast the show where I speak with the world's best artists about creating works of nonfiction. I try and tease out the origins and tactics from leaders in narrative journalism (like Susan Orlean), personal essay (like Elizabeth Rush), memoir (like Andre Dubus III), radio (like Joe Donahue), and documentary film (like Penny Lane), so you can apply their tools ...
Oct 27, 2017•1 hr 6 min
Hattie Fletcher says, "[True Story] is a snack in between the main meal." The main meal being the quarterly magazine "Creative Nonfiction." You could say we have something in common. It’s the Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak with the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction, leaders in the world of narrative journalism, documentary film, essay, memoir and radio and try to deconstruct how these masters go about the work so that you can improve your own. This week...
Oct 20, 2017•23 min
Elizabeth Rush told me, “I’m just a mule. I just show up every day and climb very, very slowly up that mountain.” What’s up, CNFers?! Hope you’re having a CNFin’ good week. It’s the Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak with the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction: leaders from narrative journalism, memoir, essay, radio, and documentary film and try to tease out their stories, habits, and routines so that you can apply their tools of mastery in your own work. Th...
Oct 13, 2017•1 hr 24 min
Erica Westly, this week's guest, says, “I try to picture myself telling the story to someone at the bus stop." It's the Creative Nonfiction Podcast where I speak to the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction. Leaders in the world of narrative journalism, memoir, essay, radio, and documentary film share their tools and tricks with you so you can improve your own work. Today I’m happy to introduce you to Erica Westly, @westlyer on Twitter, a freelance journalist based out of Chica...
Oct 06, 2017•1 hr 7 min
“You have to live a life in order to tell stories," says Matthew Mercier on this week's episode of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast. Hello, CNFers, I’m Brendan O’Meara and this is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction, leaders in the worlds of narrative journalism, memoir, essay, radio, and documentary film to tease out tactics and routines to inspire you and your work. I love it, baby, today we’ve got Matthew Mercie...
Sep 29, 2017•1 hr 7 min
"After you're in it for a while and you actually become better, you realize how bad you are," says Peter Brown Hoffmeister. It's The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak with the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction, leaders in the worlds of narrative journalism, memoir, essay, radio, and documentary film, where I tease out their stories and habits in the hopes that you can apply some of their tools and tricks to your own work. Episode 68 is with author Peter Br...
Sep 22, 2017•57 min
This episode of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast is supported by Hippocampus Magazine, whose founder Donna Talarico, just completed her third annual conference HippoCamp. Visit the website hippocampusmagazine.com to read the great work being done and to submit your own work. Hippocampus Magazine: memorable creative nonfiction. It’s the Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak with the world’s best artists about creative works of nonfiction: leaders in the world of narrative journalism,...
Sep 15, 2017•56 min
Brin-Jonathan Butler (@brinicio on Twitter), a freelance writer and author, returns! “Obsession has always fascinated me, whether it’s more a dance with your virtues or your demons,” Butler says. Hey, hey, it’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak with the world’s best artists—leaders in narrative journalism, essay, memoir, radio, and documentary film—and tease our their stories, tips, and tricks and how you can apply those tools to your own work. I’m your host @BrendanOMeara,...
Sep 08, 2017•1 hr 21 min
Support for this podcast is brought to you by Hippocamp 2017, a conference for creative nonfiction writers. It’s this weekend, as in September 8 through the 10th. So here’s the deal, good ol’ Hippocamp sponsored the Creative Nonfiction Podcast again, but I didn’t run that snazzy new ad because this week’s bonus episode is with Hippocampus Magazine and Hippocamp founder, Donna Talarico, @DonnaTalarico on Twitter, give her a follow. Maybe I should mention that this is the podcast where I speak wit...
Sep 05, 2017•59 min
"To be a great writer, you just have LOVE writing," says Matt Tullis, author of the new memoir "Running with Ghosts. "You have to be passionate about it, so you're going to do it a lot." It’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak with the world’s best artists—journalists, documentary filmmakers, essayists, memoirists, and radio producers—about creating works of nonfiction, I’m your host, Brendan O’Meara. Thanks for listening. Have we got a good one for you today. Episode 64 wit...
Sep 01, 2017•1 hr 7 min
"You have to see the value in the end product enough to make yourself suffer," says Bronwynn Dean. This episode is brought to you by Hippocamp 2017, a conference for creative nonfiction writers. It takes place in lovely Lancaster, PA, and runs from September 8 through September 10. Spots are still available for the third annual conference, so if you want to check out speakers like Tobias Wolfe and Dinty W. Moore, you better sign up! Hippocamp: Create. Share. Live. Bronwynn Dean stopped by the po...
Aug 25, 2017•50 min
Documentary filmmaker Penny Lane joins me to talk about her films "Our Nixon," "Nuts!", and "The Voyagers." We explore how she decided to start leveling up her ambition and the craft of making doc films. Please share the episode with a pal and leave a kind review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Aug 18, 2017•1 hr 1 min
Hello, CNF-buddies, it’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak with the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction—journalists, essayists, memoirists, radio producers, and documentary film makers—and how you can use their tools of mastery and apply it to your own work. That’s right, you are in for a treat. Well, let’s face it, you’ve always been in for a treat, but this week you’re in for an Easter basket and Halloween sack all rolled into one verifiably true candy...
Aug 11, 2017•1 hr 6 min
"In many ways the biggest challenge to figure out if you're gonna be a writer of nonfiction is to figure out what stories you can tell that no one else has told before," says Lee Gutkind. Hey, hey, it’s The Creative Nonfiction Podcast! This is the show where I interview the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction: documentary film, personal essay, memoir, narrative journalism, killer profiles, and reportage and dive into the origin story, what makes them great, and how you can ap...
Aug 04, 2017•1 hr 3 min
Hello, friends, fellow CNFers, it’s the Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak with the world’s best artists about creating works of nonfiction. Today I welcome back Jessica Lahey of Episode 51 fame, author of the NYT bestseller “The Gift of Failure” and, most recently, the author of the essay “I’ve Taught Monsters,” which appeared in Issue 63 of the literary magazine Creative Nonfiction. For this episode, Jess reads the essay in its entirety and she gives a knockout performance. I ...
Jul 28, 2017•23 min
It's The Creative Nonfiction Podcast where I speak with the world’s best writers, freelancers, interviewers, authors, and documentary filmmakers about WHY and HOW they go about creating works of nonfiction and how YOU can apply what they do to your work. Today’s guest is Joe Ferraro, the fourth Joe I’ve had on the podcast (Joe DePaulo, Joe Drape, Joe Donahue, and now Joe Ferraro). Need a Josephine…anyway… So who’s Joe Ferraro? He’s a teacher and a learner, but above all he’s a leader. He just st...
Jul 21, 2017•1 hr 1 min
Joe Donahue hosts The Book Show and The Roundtable for WAMC Northeast Public Radio out of Albany, New York. He's the best interviewer you've likely never heard of, and it was a distinct pleasure to speak with him again. "My job really is to present a person and get to the bottom of them, if you will," he says, "and ask questions that hopefully people want answered." He learned from Larry King, Fred Rogers, and honed his craft over a lifetime of radio. Seriously. A lifetime. He wanted to be a bro...
Jul 14, 2017•1 hr 15 min
Sonja Livingston stopped by The Creative Nonfiction Podcast to talk about her award-winning memoir “Ghostbread.” She was also gracious enough to read from three short chapters. It’s about family and growing up in poverty. “[My family] hasn’t tried to kill me, but they haven’t thrown me a party either,” Sonja says. This episode is layered and a bit experimental. I hope it adds a little extra somethin’-somethin’ to the usual interview. If you dig it, let me know on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and I’ll ...
Jul 07, 2017•53 min
"What writer at my age gets to have parents be dead? I don't have to worry about what they think!" says Nikki Schulak. I suggest visiting Nikki's website and then perusing her extensive archive of essays. In this episode we talk about how stories come to her, how she stays attuned to the world, naked bike rides, and the power of performing for an audience and the validation that ushers. This is the last episode before my 37th birthday. Wanna give something to me? Leave a review on iTunes. You do...
Jun 30, 2017•56 min
Andre Dubus III, author the memoir Townie and the novels House of Sand and Fog and Dirty Love, stopped by the podcast to talk about memoir, the essay, and writing in general. "The truth is, if you want to write or create anything worth a damn, you better embrace failure or you're not going to get to the good stuff. You gotta learn to love how hard it is," he says. This episode is so packed with great, actionable, and inspiring material from a "made" writer, meaning he built himself into the writ...
Jun 23, 2017•54 min
Jessica Abel is a cartoonist, a teacher, a writer, and a podcaster and her latest book, Growing Gills: How to Find Creative Focus When You're Drowning in Your Daily Life, is her latest project. I came across her kick-ass, 200-page, black-and-white graphic book Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio and reached out to her. So in this episode we talk a lot about what makes for great radio/podcasting, how to obtain creative focus, the power of reviewing your projects ...
Jun 16, 2017•59 min
I'm not sure where to begin if I'm being perfectly honest. Joe Drape (@joedrape on Twitter) is a New York Times sports writer and the New York Times bestselling author of Our Boys and American Pharoah: The Untold Story of the Triple Crown Winner's Legendary Rise. He wrote the 80,000-word manuscript in six weeks without a book leave. How are you feeling about your productivity? "When you say, 'Ok, I've got six weeks to write 80,000 words,' it freaks you out," says Joe. "Sometimes 1,500 words goes...
Jun 09, 2017•1 hr 2 min
Jessica Lahey, author of the essay "I've Taught Monsters" and the NYT best seller "The Gift of Failure," came by the show to talk about teaching and getting the work done. "The work of being a writer means you get words on the page. It's as simple as that. I means you read, you write, and get words on the page." We talk about her approach to teaching and language, and also how Stephen King's "On Writing" influenced her style. We also talk about what it means to work hard as a writer. Dig the sho...
Jun 02, 2017•57 min
