Further Reading: Craft, Creativity, and The Writing Life

Introducing you to a new podcast about writers, for writers, and by writers

I’m taking a few weeks or possibly the whole month off to focus on some big, time-sensitive projects, including the launch of Pandemic University’s Spring ‘21 Semester.

I’m revealing this stellar lineup of authors and classes on March 8th. They include two bestselling dystopian fiction novelists, an award-winning short story writer, an internationally acclaimed foreign correspondent, and a sports journalist unlike any other. Sign-up for announcements so you don’t miss it.

In the meantime, I want to introduce you to a podcast that I know you’ll love. I know this because a) it’s basically a better version of this column in audio form; and b) the debut guest is, well, the author of this newsletter you’re already reading.

Okay, so maybe “love” is a strong word. But Further Reading: Craft, Creativity, and The Writing Life is definitely a podcast of interest. Produced by the MFA in Creative Nonfiction program at King’s (a real university and quite possibly the best program of its kind in Canada) Further Reading invites writers to open up about their process, mistakes they’ve learned from, and challenges they’re still facing.

In part one of episode one (yes, even my interviews are long-form apparently), host Gillian Turnbull and I discussed:

• Stumbling into journalism without a formal education

• How to avoid putting undue pressure on yourself

• Crafting and organizing your pictures

• Cherishing special writer-editor relationships

• What I learned about freelance writing by editing freelancers

• Unhealthy industry competition

• Preparing subjects for intensive interviews and earning their trust

Youll find Further Reading in the Apple store now, and soon on Spotify. You can also get the podcast on Soundcloud or listen to episode number one right here.

Thank you to Gillian Turnbull and her production team at King’s University for making me their debut guest.

At Large will be back with another advice column soon-ish. In the meantime, I’m banking new queries for future issues. Have a question? Email me! Are you shy? Ask anonymously!