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Freelance Writing Direct: Conversations with authors, journalists, agents, novelists, memoirists, niche writers, publishers, writing teachers, assigning editors and media experts.


Jan 16, 2025

Hannah Sward, daughter of the late poet Robert Sward, is the IAN awarding-winning author of Strip: A Memoir. Strip, Swards first book, has received the attention of authors such as Nobel Prize winner, J.M. Coetzee, Melissa Broder, and NYT Bestselling novelist Caroline Leavitt who called Sward, “One of the most moving and honest memoir writers. So eloquent, so brave.” 

 

Sward has spoken on dozens of podcasts and panels with special appearances on NBC CA Live and C-SPAN BookTV. Published in literary journals for the past twenty years, she was a regular contributor at The Fix and Erotic Review. Her most recent work can be read in the LA Times, NY Times (TLS), Huff Post, The Rumpus and others.

 

Sward is on the board at Right to Write Press, a nonprofit that supports emerging incarcerated writers. She lives in Los Angeles where she is working on a short story collection about love and jealousy. 

 

In this episode:

  • Hannah Sward’s life story and the inspiration behind her memoir, Strip. [2:33]

  • The impact of loneliness and addiction on childhood and young adulthood [3:35]

  • Refusing to center in shame, despite fraught scenarios [6:30]

  • How Hannah started writing her memoir, and traversed the path of sobriety [6:50]

  • The benefits of mentorship [7:49]

  • Structuring a book in short chapters [8:33]

  • Her 2 page a day process for putting down her truth [8:48]

  • Excavating childhood memories [10:36]

  • Distilling scenes and setting from her dad’s poetry [11:50]

  • The scene she had to rewrite till she got it right [13:39]

  • Navigating family reactions, especially with difficult topics [16:02]

  • Looking at older work and readying it for publication [22:18]

  • Hannah’s next project [25:12]

 

Get Strip on Estelle’s Bookshop

https://bookshop.org/p/books/strip-a-memoir-hannah-sward/18101649?ean=9781948954679

 

Episodes Mentioned 

 

Episode #120 

Writing Days of Wonder Featuring Caroline Leavitt

https://estelleserasmus.com/120-writing-days-of-wonder-featuring-caroline-leavitt/

 

Episode #87 

Writing Memoir that Reads Like a Novel and Captivates on Every Page with Joanna Rakoff

https://estelleserasmus.com/87-writing-memoir-that-reads-like-a-novel-and-captivates-on-every-page-featuring-joanna-rakoff/

 

Connect with Hannah Sward

 

Website

https://www.hannahsward.com/

 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/hannahswardauthor

 

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/hannahswardauthor

 

Threads

https://www.threads.net/@hannahswardauthor

 

Connect with Estelle Erasmus

 

Her latest substack Post: My Predictions for Publishing in 2025

https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/my-predictions-for-publishing-for

 

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