The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara

"It's like wet jeans, that's the feeling of generating a bunch of crappy writing," says Amanda Petrusich, a staff writer for The New Yorker.  Amanda can be found @amandapetrusich on Twitter. She's the author of Don't Sell at Any Price and she came by the show to talk about her career and early struggles. Thanks to Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction for the support.  You can join me on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Instagram is @cnfpod. Subscribe to the show and share with your fellow CNFers!

"For a writer, ignorance and curiosity are a magical combination," says Philip Gerard. Philp Gerard, author of The Last Battleground: The Civil War Comes to North Carolina and the novel Cape Fear Rising, returns to CNF to talk about his latest book. Philip is a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and has written several books. Visit philipgerard.com for more information. Keep the conversation going on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod, and Instagram @cnfpod. Facebook @CNFPodcast. Thanks to Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction for the support.  Be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you get your pods!

"Find something else that is so absorbing to you. That is a place you can go to get away from [social media]," says Jenny Odell.Jenny Odell, author of How to Do Nothing, came by the show.Thanks to Goucher's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path's MFA in Creative Nonfiction for the support.Be sure keep the conversation going on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to sign up for the newsletter.

"A good idea knows no experience level or age," says Ian Frisch, @IanFrisch on Twitter. Ian Frisch, author of Magic is Dead: My Journey into the World's Most Secretive Society of Magicians. We dig deep into the book, as well his approach to freelancing. Thanks to our show's patrons in Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction.

"Part of me thinks nobody should write a memoir," says Anika Fajardo, @anikawrites. Anika Fajardo, author of Magical Realism for Nonbelievers, joined me for a nice conversation about her late-blooming journey through writing. She thinks writing is about community and connection and writers need to be submitting work. Be sure to keep the conversation going on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Thanks to Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction. 

"I don't have destinations in mind. I always have experiences in mind," says the poet Jericho Brown. (@jerichobrown) Today I welcome the award-winning poet Jericho Brown to the show, whose latest collection of poems The Tradition just released. It is published by Copper Canyon Press. We talk about his committment to phsyical fitness, experiences over destinations, his new collection of poems, that time he almost died of the flu, and how he invented the poetic structure known as the duplex. Support for this show comes from Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction. 

"The pleasure of reading a book is that it's reciprocal," says Meredith May (@meredithmaysf).  Meredith May, author of The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage, and a Girl Saved by Bees, stopped by the show.  The show is made possible by Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction, Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction and my monthly newsletter! Keep the conversation going on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod. Instagram is @cnfpod. Subscribe to the show and thanks for listening!

"Maybe the world will aways be crazy, and creative work will always be hard. Then the question becomes: How do you keep going?" says Austin Kleon. This is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where I speak to badass writers, filmmakers, producers, and podcasters about the art and craft of telling true stories. Austin Kleon is the author of Newspaper Blackout, Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, The Steal Like an Artist Journal, and his latest book is Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad.  Keep the conversation going on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod.  Thanks to our sponsors in Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction for helping make today's show possible.

"At what point are you taxing the reader?" asks Scott Eden, "knowing when the reader has had enough." That’s Scott Eden, investigative reporter for ESPN the Magazine and THIS is The Creative Nonfiction Podcast. Subscribe at iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher to get this delivered to your feed on every Friday. Follow me on Twitter @BrendanOMeara and @CNFPod and follow the show on Instagram @cnfpod. So Scott Eden is here. He’s an intrepid reporter and we got to dig deep into his process and deconstructed how he wrote his piece on the former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who gambled on the games he reffed and essentially fixed games. Thanks to Goucher College’s MFA in Nonfiction and Bay Path Unviersity’s MFA in Creative Nonfiction for making this show possible. Be sure to head over to brendanomeara.com for show notes and to subscribe to my monthly newsletter. Sign up and get the next one on the first of the month. Once a month. No spam. Can’t beat it.

"If I fail, I want to fail because of me. If we succeed, I want to succeed because of us," says Vlad Yudin. Vlad Yudin, director and filmmaker, stopped by the show to talk about his bodybuilding documentaries and why he left Russia to come to the United States. This episode is brought to you by Goucher College's MFA in Nonfiction, Bay Path University's MFA in Creative Nonfiction, and my monthly newsletter. Keep the conversation going on Twitter @CNFPod and @BrendanOMeara.