The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara

"I'm much more interested in how a person achieves something than in what they specifically achieved," says Debbie Millman, the "Pod Mother" and OG podcaster, twenty years in for Design Matters.  She's also the author of the new book Love Letter to a Garden (Timber Press). In this episode, we talk about: * The 20 year arc of Design Matters * What people she's most drawn to * How she views the narrative arc of an interview * The research * As well as the evergreen themes of her new book on her quest for a garden You can find Debbie at debbiemillman.com and on Instagram @debbiemillman. Podcast Specific Substack at creativenonfictionpodcast.substrack.com. Pre-order The Front Runner [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-front-runner-brendan-omeara?variant=43044900962338] Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm [https://rageagainstthealgorithm.beehiiv.com/] Show notes: brendanomeara.com [http://brendanomeara.com/]

Nick Davidson, @nickgdavidson on IG, says, "We usually think of hunting stories and looking for ideas, but I feel like it's the other way around: stories hunt the storyteller, and I'm just prey." Nick's latest piece is for The Atavist Magazine titled "The Balloon That Fell From the Sky."  His work has appeared in Outside, VICE Sports, Garden & Gun, and a million other places of note.  Podcast Specific Substack at creativenonfictionpodcast.substrack.com. Pre-order The Front Runner [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-front-runner-brendan-omeara?variant=43044900962338] Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm [https://rageagainstthealgorithm.beehiiv.com/] Show notes: brendanomeara.com [http://brendanomeara.com/]

Megan Marshall is the author of After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart (Mariner Books), a new collection of essays. Megan won the Pulitzer Prize in 2014 for Margaret Fuller: A New American Life. Podcast Specific Substack at creativenonfictionpodcast.substrack.com. Pre-order The Front Runner [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-front-runner-brendan-omeara?variant=43044900962338] Promotional Sponsor: The Power of Narrative Conference [https://combeyond.bu.edu/offering/the-power-of-narrative-conference/]. Use CNF15 at checkout for a 15% discount. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm [https://rageagainstthealgorithm.beehiiv.com/] Show notes: brendanomeara.com [http://brendanomeara.com/]

"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 more Podcast Specific Substack [https://open.substack.com/pub/creativenonfictionpodcast/p/the-post-book-funk-is-real?r=ujb19&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true] Pre-order The Front Runner [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-front-runner-brendan-omeara?variant=43044900962338] Promotional Sponsor: The Power of Narrative Conference [https://combeyond.bu.edu/offering/the-power-of-narrative-conference/]. Use CNF15 at checkout for a 15% discount. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm [https://rageagainstthealgorithm.beehiiv.com/] Show notes: brendanomeara.com [http://brendanomeara.com/] Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod [http://patreon.com/cnfpod]

"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 eBay Podcast Specific Substack [https://open.substack.com/pub/creativenonfictionpodcast/p/jaydra-johnsons-low-a-high-debut?r=ujb19&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true] Pre-order The Front Runner [https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-front-runner-brendan-omeara?variant=43044900962338] Promotional Sponsor: The Power of Narrative Conference [https://combeyond.bu.edu/offering/the-power-of-narrative-conference/]. Use CNF15 at checkout for a 15% discount. Newsletter: Rage Against the Algorithm [https://rageagainstthealgorithm.beehiiv.com/] Show notes: brendanomeara.com [http://brendanomeara.com/] Support: Patreon.com/cnfpod [http://patreon.com/cnfpod]