Open Book with Narratively Academy

32:08

WATCH: Finding the Writing Process That’s Right for You

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/10/03

I had so much fun chatting with Janna Marlies Maron this week! It was wonderful hearing about how Janna found her calling as a book coach working with everyone from New York Times bestsellers to self-published newcomers. And it was absolutely freeing to hear her philosophy on how writers can stop listening to the rules about how we’re supposed to write and start finding the process that’s right for us. I walked away with a tip that I can’t wait to incorporate into my writing routine, and I know

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0:43

WATCH: Brendan O’Meara on Demystifying Pitching +...

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/09/12

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.comOur Open Book chats here at Narratively Academy are all about trying to pull back the curtain on some of the more elusive areas of the literary world. So, when we came across Brendan O’Meara’s work with The Creative Nonfiction Podcast and his newsletter Pitch Club, both with similar missions to ours, collaborating seemed like a no-brainer. On his pod, Brendan has inspirational conversations with literary

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1:35

WATCH: How to Get a Literary Agent

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/08/10

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.comOf all the things writers want to know about, the one that often feels the most mysterious — even if you know something about the process — is how to find an agent. Probably because what agents are looking for is always changing, so much of it is about taste and preference, (i.e., what you feel like spending oodles of your time working on), because it’s a bit harder than we want it to be… But this is not meant to

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2:59

WATCH: How Book Reviews Really Work

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/08/03

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.comThere’s so much to know about book publishing and the world surrounding it, that it can feel hard to have a firm understanding of it all. Take book reviews, for instance. Have you ever wondered why some books get reviewed and others don’t, how libraries know which books to stock their shelves with, how to break into reviewing yourself and what the process really looks like? Us too.Which is why, for our latest

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45:08

A Deep Dive Into Flash Essays

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/07/22

If you’re a fan of flash nonfiction, there’s no way you haven’t heard of — and most likely are a huge fan of — Dinty W Moore. After almost 30 years as the lead editor at Brevity, Dinty recently announced that he would be stepping down from his perch. Have no fear, he will be succeeded by the inimitable Zoë Bossiere, Brevity’s former managing editor, and Dinty will remain on the editorial team at The Brevity Blog. If this news finds you needing an immediate Dinty W. Moore/flash essay fix, well, us

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46:35

WATCH: Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger on How to...

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/07/20

A few days ago, Creative Nonfiction founder Lee Gutkind sat down with Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild and the Authors Guild Foundation, for a robust conversation about the forces reshaping the writing world—and what writers can to protect ourselves.Mary and Lee talked about how the Authors Guild helps writers navigate contracts, legal disputes, copyright questions and other challenges that arise throughout a writing career. Click play above to watch the full video.Become a paid member

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48:20

Open Book With the Writer of the Latest 'Modern Love'

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/07/07

The New York Times’ Modern Love column is an institution. It falls at the top of many writers’ bucket lists, and there are even classes — several! — about how to write your own. So, when someone writes two Modern Loves, well, that feels like a huge feat. And when that someone is a writer who you have worked with before and whose essays you love, well, even better. Yes, we’re talking about Elizabeth Laura Nelson and her recent Modern Love — about meeting her current boyfriend through her best friend,

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0:30

WATCH: "How to Report on Family Secrets" with New...

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/06/06

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.comHappy weekend, writers! What did you work on this week? Don’t forget to share your #WeeklyWins over in the Narratively Academy Chat.The best thing I did this week was my chat with Susan Saulny, the writer behind one of the most impressive feature articles I’ve read this year, the epic story, “A Family Secret No More,” published in The New York Times a few weeks ago.In her story, Susan explores the dual life

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30:41

WATCH: Melissa Petro on How to Write a Hybrid Memoir

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/06/02

This Open Book conversation with Melissa Petro, author of Shame on You: How to Be a Woman in the Age of Mortification, is one that has been particularly helpful for a lot of writers in our community. So many of us have lots of material for a memoir but no firm concept about how that material comes together into a marketable book.Melissa chatted with us about how she re-conceptualized her memoir into a hybrid book that feels very of-the-moment — and got a publisher’s attention with her new proposal

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25:48

Writing + Publishing My Memoir at 75

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/05/30

This was such a fun one! It was so inspiring to hear Laurie Garnier’s story of how, at age 40, she decided to change everything in pursuit of a better life—and how, at age 75, she finally wrote that life story and got it published.The book is And Then There Was Paris and for those who didn’t have the chance to join us live, we’re making the recording free for everyone. Here’s to always chasing your dreams.Happy weekend! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers

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0:30

Inside the Book Launch: How Hybrid Publishing Works

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/05/26

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.comHello, writers! Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing long weekend—or at least a not-so-miserable Monday if you weren’t lucky enough to have yesterday off. On Thursday we had a fantastic conversation with Amy Gabrielle, author of the just-published memoir Widow in the City: A Memoir of Heartbreaks and Hookups.We recently published an adapted excerpt of Amy’s memoir over on Narratively.com, and we wanted to

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1:28

WATCH: The Secret Life of an Obit Writer

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/05/05

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.comThis week’s Open Book was one of my favorite yet. The great Lee Gutkind keeps reeling in fascinating guests, and the latest is veteran New York Times obituary writer Michael Roswenwald, who told us all about the craft of obituary writing—how he decides what to include, what to leave out, and how this work shapes the way we think about narrative, memory, and meaning. Paid subscribers can watch the full

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1:29

How to Be a Successful Freelancer With Amelia Edelman

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/04/26

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.comEveryone likes to fancy themselves a freelance writer, but the reality of it can be kind of intimidating. Can you actually earn real money, where do you even begin, and once you do, how do you keep track of all your projects? We had a lot of questions. Lucky for us (and you!), one of our favorite successful freelancers, Amelia Edelman — whose work has appeared on/in The New York Times’ T Brand Studio, NPR, Travel

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2:25

'A Better Literary World Is Possible': How to Get a...

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/03/22

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.comAny writer knows that if you plan to work on a book — even if you’re just thinking about it — at some point the matter of whether to get an agent or not (or at least to try!) will come up. Some writers forego the whole agent-querying process altogether. With that in mind, we spoke to authors Bonnie Chau and Kristi D. Osorio about their experiences doing just that.

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52:59

WATCH: Finding Balance in the Writing Business

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/02/21

As many of you know, Jane Friedman is a leading voice in the publishing industry. Her newsletter, The Bottom Line, provides nuanced, transparent market intelligence to thousands of authors. This week, Lee Gutkind chatted with Jane about the state of the publishing industry and how writers can find the right balance of focusing on writing and focusing on business. Jane also answered your questions bout book proposals, building a platform and more. Click play above to watch the full thing.Want more

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30:30

How to Blend Magical Realism + Memoir

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/02/18

Thanks to everyone who joined us for yesterday’s live interview with Jasper “Jaz” Joyner about magical realism and memoir. If you weren’t able to join, just click play above to watch the full interview.And if you’re ready to dive into this world, don’t miss Jaz’s upcoming class, How to Write a Memoir with Magical Realism, an intensive six-week workshop in which students will learn how to shape an effective (and true!) memoir using fantastical elements borrowed from this beloved genre.Get full access

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30:05

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/02/14

In this week’s episode of “Open Book” author Rafael Frumkin tells us why they decided to write an autobiographical novel instead of a memoir—and explains how nonfiction writers can get started with turning their true experiences into fiction.If you didn’t get the chance to join us live, just click play above to watch the whole thing, or listen in your favorite podcast player. We’re making this episode free to all.And if you’re ready to make the leap into fiction yourself, don’t miss Rafael’s

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1:01

How to Turn Your Essays Into a Collection With Nicole...

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/02/08

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.comI’m still pinching myself that I got to chat with the brilliant Nicole Graev Lipson yet again, this time for our Open Book series about one of my favorite topics, the essay collection, or more specifically, the memoir-in-essays. Nicole wrote one of my favorites, Mothers and Other Fictional Characters, which was published last year. As promised, Nicole was a true open book about her experience, sharing how she

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1:40

How I Turned My Nonfiction Article Into a Book

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/01/30

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.comWe love seeing writers expand their Narratively articles into published books! In this week’s episode of our Open Book video/podcast series, Ethelene Whitmire shares how she leveraged her article, The Gay Black American Who Stared Down Nazis in the Name of Love, to land a significant book deal with a major publisher. Paid members can watch the full video above. Be sure to order a copy of Ethelene’s The Remarkable

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57:20

New York Times Features Writer Steven Kurutz on the...

Open Book with Narratively Academy ·

2026/01/18

Thanks so much to everyone who joined our live chat on Friday with Creative Nonfiction founder Lee Gutkind and New York Times features writer Steven Kurutz. Steven has written so many fantastic articles over the years, and it was incredible to get his insight into how to find great stories—and figure out how and where to tell each one. (We had a few technical difficulties which meant Steven had to be off-camera, but we rolled with it!) Click play above to listen to the full conversation. We’re

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