Selected Misdemeanors: Crafting Meaning in Flash Nonfiction with Sue William Silverman

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Have you ever wondered how a single moment—a glance, a mistake, a shimmering flash of memory—can hold the power of an entire story? Or how the smallest details of an ordinary life can reveal something vast about who we are and what we long for? In this episode, I talk with award-winning author Sue William Silverman about her newest book, Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader. Together, we explore the art of flash nonfiction—those short, revelatory pieces that illuminate our obsessions and turn ordinary moments into profound reflections on love, loss, and self-forgiveness.

Episode Highlights

• 3:35: Why Title This Selected Misdemeanors
• 6:36:Playing with Unifying Devices in Your Books 
• 11:18: Understanding Flash Nonfiction
• 16:20: Creating Alternative Essay Constructions 
• 22:10: Finding Specificity and Moving Away from Abstraction 
• 30:43: Sue’s Writing Advice for Surviving 2025 and Beyond

Resources for this Episode: 

• About Finding Your Voice and Crafting Stories that Ignite the Soul with Sue William Silverman
• Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul by Sue William Silverman

Sue’s Bio: Sue William Silverman is an award-winning author of nine works of nonfiction and poetry. Her new book, "Selected Misdemeanors: Essays at the Mercy of the Reader," is a collection of flash essays. Her book on the craft of writing, "Acetylene Torch Songs: Writing True Stories to Ignite the Soul," won the 2024 IPPY Silver Award. Her memoir-in-essays collection, "How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences," won the gold star in Foreword Reviews INDIE Book of the Year Award. Other works include "Love Sick: One Woman’s Journey through Sexual Addiction," made into a Lifetime TV movie; "Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You," which won the AWP Award; and "The Pat Boone Fan Club: My Life as a White Anglo-Saxon Jew." She’s co-chair of the MFA in Writing program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her media appearances include The View, Anderson Cooper-360, and PBS Books.

Connect with Sue: 

• Website: www.SueWilliamSilverman.com
• Facebook: @SueWilliamSilverman
• Instagram: @suewilliamsilverman

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Connect with your host, Lisa:
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Produced by Espresso Podcast Production