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


Aug 15, 2024

Beth Ann Fennelly, Poet Laureate of Mississippi from 2016-2021, teaches in the MFA Program at the University of Mississippi where she is a four-time teaching award winner. She’s received grants from the N.E.A., the United States Artists, the Academy of American Poets, and a Fulbright to Brazil. Her work has won a Pushcart Prize and three times been included in The Best American Poetry Series. Fennelly has published three poetry books: Open House, Tender Hooks, and Unmentionables, and a book of nonfiction, Great with Child, all published with W. W. Norton. A novel she co-authored with her husband, Tom Franklin, called The Tilted World, was published by HarperCollins. Her sixth book, Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs (W. W. Norton), was named an Atlanta Journal Constitution Best Book, a Goodreaders Favorite for 2017, and the winner of the Housatonic Book Prize. Fennelly and Franklin live in Oxford with their three children.

 

In this episode:

  • Beth Ann's writing journey [5:29]

  • Coining the concept of micro memoir [8:00]

  • Taking personal anecdotes and making them resonate [8:37]

  • The evolution of how Beth Ann structured her book [9:00]

  • Crafting through lines with purpose [15:28]

  • The art of collaborating with a partner on a novel and how Beth Ann made it work [15:28]

  • Why you can’t ignore the concept of fun when it comes to writing [19:43]

  • Why transitions need to be addressed carefully [24:42]

  • Establishing an effective writing practice [28:00]

 

Connect with Beth Ann Fennelly 

Website: https://www.bethannfennelly.com/ 

Facebook: https://facebook.com/bethann.fennelly.9 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/bethannfennelly

 

Listen to her TedX Talk

How Literature Can Help Us Develop Empathy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nJv8sxpUKU&t=334s

 

See Her Talk for The Moth

The Proper Time to Eat

https://themoth.org/stories/the-proper-time-to-eat

 

Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs and The Tilted World on Estelle’s Bookshop

https://bookshop.org/shop/EstelleSErasmus



Connect with Estelle:

 

Estelle’s New York Times Essay Singing My Dad Back to Me

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/well/family/singing-my-dad-back-to-me.html

 

Episodes Referenced Here

Joanna Rakoff

Episode #87  Writing Memoir That Reads Like a Novel and Captivates on Every Page

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

 

Maggie Smith

Episode #81 The Art of Shaping a Compelling Story

https://estelleserasmus.com/81-the-art-of-shaping-a-compelling-story-featuring-maggie-smith/

 

Ann Hood 

Episode #95 The Catalysts and Craft for Charting and Plotting Novels https://estelleserasmus.com/95-the-catalysts-and-craft-for-charting-and-plotting-novels-featuring-ann-hood/

 

Episode #35 Flying High with Storyteller Ann Hood

https://estelleserasmus.com/35-flying-high-with-storyteller-ann-hood/

 

​​FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode at 

https://estelleserasmus.com/podcast. You also get a free pitching guide if you sign up for her newsletter.

 

Sign up for Estelle’s Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest 

https://www.writersonlineworkshops.com/courses/writing-the-personal-essay-101-fundamentals

 

See Estelle’s latest blog post with news

https://estelleserasmus.com/a-few-pieces-of-exciting-news/



Get Her Book 

Writing That Gets Noticed: Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, Get Published: https://rb.gy/5ihwp0

 

Pre-Order Her Audiobook:

https://shorturl.at/4uG2P

 

Sign up for her Substack https://estelleserasmus.substack.com (with craft advice and writing opportunities). Paid subscribers receive opportunities for pitch reviews, plus bonus clips from Freelance Writing Direct guests

 

Estelle’s latest substack post on Micro Memoir

https://estelleserasmus.substack.com/p/if-you-are-writing-a-micro-memoir

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/EstelleSErasmus

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@EstelleSErasmus