
The Creative Nonfiction Podcast with Brendan O'Meara
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!
Latest episodes

Jul 5, 2024 • 1h 9min
Episode 419: Maggie Gigandet Red Paperclipped Her Way into Freelancing
Maggie Gigandet is a freelance writer whose piece "The Extra Mile" appears in the Atavist Magazine.In this episode we also hear from editor-in-chief Seyward Darby.Newsletter: Rage Against the AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

Jun 28, 2024 • 1h 23min
Episode 418: Surrendering to the Subconscious with John Julius Reel
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 AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod
Jun 21, 2024 • 1h 24min
Episode 417: 'Stories Can Save Us' and the Enduring Legacy of Matt Tullis
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 AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

Jun 14, 2024 • 1h 7min
Episode 416: A Lifelong Search for Voice with Acamea Deadwiler
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 AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

Jun 7, 2024 • 1h 9min
Episode 415: Sam Jefferies, Hammering Out Screed
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 AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

May 31, 2024 • 57min
Episode 414: John Rosengren on Cuts, Note Taking, and Darkness for The Atavist
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 AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

May 24, 2024 • 57min
Episode 413: Young Woman and the Sea, from Book to Movie
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 AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSocial: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and ThreadsSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

May 17, 2024 • 58min
Episode 412: Leaving the Emotional Moments Unsaid with Lilly Dancyger
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 AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSocial: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and ThreadsSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

May 10, 2024 • 1h 15min
Episode 411: The Heart Part and Big Dreams with Isa Adney
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 AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSocial: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and ThreadsSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod

May 3, 2024 • 1h 19min
Episode 410: Brian Fairbanks and "The Last Shall be First"
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 AlgorithmShow notes: brendanomeara.comSocial: @creativenonfiction podcast on IG and ThreadsSupport: Patreon.com/cnfpod