The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara is a weekly podcast that showcases leaders in narrative journalism, essay, memoir, documentary film, radio and podcasts about the art and craft of telling true stories. Follow the show @creativenonfictionpodcast on Instagram and Threads and visit patreon.com/cnfpod to support!
John Julius Reel ( @johnjuliusreel ) is a writer, memoirist, and language teacher who lives in Spain with his family. He's the author of My Half Orange: A Story of Love and Language in Seville (Tortoise Books). Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Justin Heckert (@justinheckert) is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in countless publications from Esquire to The Ringer, from Garden & Gun to the New York Times Magazine. Justin wrote the afterward to the late Matt Tullis's post-humous book Stories Can Save Us (Univ. of George Press). Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Acamea Deadwiler is an essayist and memoirist and the author of Daddy's Little Stranger. This is a really rich conversation about how her book was once a collection of essays, but she had to rewrite it as a more cohesive memoir, finding voice, breaking down a piece of writing like game tape, and what playing basketball and getting cut taught her about a career in writing. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Sam Jefferies is the author of Legacy on Ice: Blake Geoffrion and the Fastest Game on Earth (Univ. of Wisconsin Press). Sam talks about how he built scenes, folded in the book writing and reporting around his family and day job, listening to tape on commutes to get the material into his bloodstream, and maintaining a sense of individual style without exhausting the reader. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
John Rosengren is a journalist based out of Minnesota whose "Anatomy of a Murder" marks Issue 151 for The Atavist Magazine. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod
Glenn Stout is the author of Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World. It's now out in movie theaters and re-issued as a movie tie-in paperback by Mariner Books. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Lilly Dancyger (@lillydancyger) is a writer and editor whose latest book is First Love: Essays on Friendship (Dial Press). In this episode Lilly talks about her trepidation around writing a true-crime memoir, braided essays, book marketing, and when to let the emotion of the moment do the talking. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Isa Adney (@isaadney) is a writer and documentary producer and the author of The Little Book of Big Dreams: True Stories About People Who Followed a Spark (She Writes Press). Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod
Brian Fairbanks is an author and journalist whose piece for the 150th issue of the Atavist Magazine, The Last Shall be First, chronicles the actions of a corrupt New Orleans cop and his trail of victims still crying for justice. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Earl Swift is the best-selling author of Hell Put to Shame: The 1921 Murder Farm Massacre and the Horror of America's Second Slavery (Mariner Books). In this episode we talk about how Earl strings together book projects and what this story from more than 100 years ago still says about today. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Ruby McConnell (@rubygonewild) is one of our great environmental writers and her latest book is Wilderness and the American Spirit. It's published by Overcup Press. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod
Alex Squadron is a sports writer for Slam Magazine and the author of Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod
Darrell Hartman (@dwhartman) is the author of The Battle of Ink and Ice: A Sensational Story of News Barons, North Pole Explorers, and the Making of Modern Media. It is published by Viking. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Hallie Lieberman (@hallielieberman) is a journalist, writer, and historian. She's the author of Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy. Her latest piece for The Atavist is "The Handcuff Man." Visit magazine.atavist.com to read it. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Hanif Abdurraqib is poet, critic, and author of several books, including There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension (Random House). In this episode we talk about his nod to witnessing, specificity, intentionality, making it, and LeBron James. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Elizabeth Rush is the author of The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth (Milkweed). Liz talks about writing toward exactitude, lyricing her way through sticking points, being a character in her own work, and voice. For a couple weeks, visit combeyond.bu.edu , use the promo code NARRATIVE25 at checkout and get 25% your tuition for the two-day Power of Narrative Conference. And, no, I don’t get any dough. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com ...
Rob Harvilla (@harvilla on X) is a staff writer for The Ringer and the host and creator of the long-running 60 Songs that Explain the 90s. His first book is 60 Songs that Explain the 90s. We talk about the end of the podcast, the evolution of voice, and the maze he purposefully escapes each episode. For a couple weeks, visit combeyond.bu.edu , use the promo code NARRATIVE25 at checkout and get 25% your tuition for the two-day Power of Narrative Conference. And, no, I don’t get any dough. Newslet...
Jessica Camille Aguirre (@jessicacaguirre) is a freelance journalist and wrote "Watch it Burn" for The Atavist Magazine. In this episode we talk about racking up rejections, voice, and what makes climate stories drag. For a couple weeks, visit combeyond.bu.edu , use the promo code NARRATIVE25 at checkout and get 25% your tuition for the two-day Power of Narrative Conference. And, no, I don’t get any dough. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonf...
Richard Blanco was the Presidential Inaugural poet at Pres. Obama's second inauguration, a winner of the National Humanities Award medal, and the author of Homeland of My Body (Beacon Press). Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
This originally aired on December 10, 2021 as Episode 291. Mirin Fader is the author of Giannis: The Improbably Rise of an MVP and a staff writer writing features for The Ringer. She is @mirinfader on social media. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
This originally aired on September 27, 2019 as Episode 170. Leslie Jamison is the best selling author of several books including Make it Scream, Make it Burn. She has a new book out (not talked about in this paperback edition) called Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
William Ralston is a freelance journalist based out of the UK. In this episode, we talk about his Atavist piece "Mayday." Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod
Emily Sohn is a freelance journalist and wrote "The Catch," a gripping profile of pioneering sports writer Virginia Kraft for Long Lead. Emily talks about how she arrived at the story, writing through the research, and the dark night of the soul of a piece of writing. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
This originally aired on June 10, 2022 as Episode 320. Howard Bryant is the bestselling author of several books, including Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original (Mariner Books). Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
This episode originally aired on March 4, 2022 as Episode 305 Matt Bell is the author of the craft book Refuse to be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts. It's published by Soho. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Leah Sottile is the author of When the Moon Turns to Blood, which is now out in paperback. She added a new chapter that concludes the Lori Vallow saga. Leah also talks about: Kurt Vonnegut's rules on writing Writing about overlooked people And putting a bow on her first book Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Rae Nudson is a journalist and author and she's on the show to talk about her piece for The Atavist Magazine. We also hear from Atavist editor-in-chief Seyward Darby as we close out 2023. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
This originally aired as Episode 244 on February 26, 2021. Jackie MacMullan is a long time sports writer for The Boston Globe, ESPN.com, and author of several best-selling books covering the NBA. She was the final guest editor of The Best American Sports Writing series. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Loren Grush is a space journalist for Bloomberg and the author of The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts . In this episode, Loren talks about: Centering women in space Mini-deadlines And what is the "twang"? Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
Athena Dixon is the author of The Loneliness Files (Tin House) and The Incredible Shrinking Woman. Her work has appeared in Hippocampus Magazine, Lit Hub, and The Rumpus. In this episode, Athena talks about: Writing quietly Being OK with the plateau Throat clearing And how to find a damn residency Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm Show notes: brendanomeara.com Social: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and Threads Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod...
