Memoir Nation

Latest Episodes:

The Future of the Book, featuring Maja Thomas Jan 08, 2024

Show notes

Books were just books for hundreds of years, but in the past 20 years, we've experienced major shifts in how we read and write. Plus, we’re on the brink of another revolution with AI that will change what we know and think we know about book publishing. This week’s guest, Maja Thomas, is the Chief Innovation Officer at Hachette, and her job, essentially, is to figure out the future of the book. She’s the only Chief Innovation Officer in all of publishing, so it’s a treat to hear what she has to say about trends, disruptions, innovations, and yes, AI. Don’t miss her insights! Also, in the trend we mention this Foreign Policy article from Dave Karpf about the future of AI maybe not being as disruptive as we all think. Worth a read.

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The New Year's Un-resolution Show Jan 01, 2024

Show notes

Happy New Year! On this week’s Write-minded, Brooke and Grant take stock of last year’s resolutions and hold their own feet to the fire on what was cast out for resolutions, and what was accomplished (or not). We’re probing the resolution, therefore, as we head into 2024—assessing its pros and cons, musing about who we’d be without a goal, and considering whether all the resolution really needs is not to be bound by such a tight timeline. Tune in to probe, explore, turn over, and consider your own relationship with resolutions as we head into a new year.

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The Subtle Art of Attunement and Its Bearing on Our Writing, featuring Baron Wormser Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

This week we’re slowing down, inviting listeners to contemplate another world both far and not far away from this one where there’s no electricity, no internet, no immediate access to all the information of the world at your fingertips. This was the world our guest Baron Wormser occupied for nearly twenty years, and the subject of his memoir, The Road Washes Out in Spring. We’re channeling a state of mind, beckoning listeners to attune to your surroundings, to what calls and what moves you. And maybe you’ll emerge out the other side of today’s show having reached a meditative, ruminative state. We hope so.

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Finding and Building the Community That’s Right for You, with Alexa Bigwarfe Dec 11, 2023

Show notes

This week on Write-minded we’re coming back to a well-loved topic: Community! Only we’re tackling it from some new angles, like the notion that not every community will be the right community for you, and the fact that there are shadow sides to community, and how we and others behave in community. Guest Alexa Bigwarfe talks about her experience in the community of writers and within the publishing community—what it was like to be new to this space, how she grew into her leadership role, and why it’s so meaningful to take advantage of what publishing has to offer authors, from trade shows, to industry events, to writing and publishing conferences. Tune in to start to think about one event you might attend in 2024!

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The Higher Truth of Fiction, featuring Jamila Minnicks Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Join Grant and Brooke this week for a conversation about truth—emotional truth, essential truth, truth as the core driver of all stories. Plus, they share how many words they wrote during November—not nearly as many as either had hoped. Guest Jamila Minnicks speaks about her new novel, Moonrise Over New Jessup, and its powerful protagonist, sense of place, and homage to her ancestors, all of which delivers on this show’s promise of weekly inspiration.

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The Origin Story, featuring Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

This week's guests are the coeditors (and contributors to) Letters to a Writer of Color. Listen in to hear the profound insights and inspirational origin story that led to Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro’s collaboration on their powerful anthology. Contributors to this collection include Kiese Laymon, Myriam Gurba, Madeleine Thien, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, and others. Our conversation this week circles how writers of color write and talk about and translate their experiences, the ways writers can get hemmed in and how they refuse to be hemmed in, and also the power of commonalities across experiences, even when those experiences are so varied. Not to be missed!

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One Sentence Leads to a Second Sentence: Pushing Through the Muddy Middle of NaNoWriMo, featuring Grant Faulkner and Brooke Warner Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

Pep Talk alert! Whether you’re writing a ton or writing a-none, this week’s episode is geared toward writers who are feeling the strain of the Muddy Middle. Grant and Brooke talk about strategies for staying on track and offer up encouragement for ways to keep with it—including how to break the wall. Brooke’s references to Esther Perel’s podcast episode, “Breaking News Is Breaking Us,” can be found here.

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Get Inspired to Write from One of the Most Prolific Women Writers in History, featuring Allison Gilbert Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

This week Brooke shares an interview she recorded with Allison Gilbert about her new book, Listen World!, a biography of the most famous woman writer you’ve never heard of. If you’re any writer, but particularly a woman writer, knowing about Elsie Robinson (1883-1956) will bring you needed inspiration during this NaNoWriMo season. She models how to believe in yourself, how to face rejection and keep going, and how perseverance is the most necessary skillset when it comes to getting our work out into the world. You’ll marvel at what she was able to do—way pre-Internet. For reference, find Allison’s CNN article about the reparative efforts underway to retag history so that gender is included/searchable.

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Gothic Stories’ Long History of Drawing from Everyday Monsters, featuring Isabel Cañas Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

Happy Halloween Week and Happy Start of NaNoWriMo. This week’s episode is a twofer because we’re bringing you a little dose of horror through our exploration of gothic stories with this week’s guest Isabel Cañas, who also happens to be a ten-year veteran of NaNoWriMo. Watch magic happen as Write-minded intertwines these two cultural events—one spooky-scary and the other downright inspiring. We’re kicking you off with some great advice and a big high-five—and if you’re still on the fence about whether you’re doing NaNoWriMo, get off and join the November writing craze.

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Playing with Narration in Memoir, with Maggie Smith Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

With her new memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, guest Maggie Smith provides an example of how to break conventional form to gorgeous results. This interview covers narration, structure, and Maggie’s process of constructing this memoir, as well as how her background as a poet informed her approach to the writing. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation mostly about narration, but we also touch upon writing about others and Maggie confesses she’s surprised by the gigantic success of this book. You’ll want to tune in to hear why.

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