Ep. 110: Memoir / Essays 101 with Mary Laura Philpott (Author of Bomb Shelter)

<p><strong>In Episode 110, Mary Laura Philpott (author of <a href="https://amzn.to/3JfG4CR">Bomb Shelter</a>) joins me for a deep dive into the memoir & essays genre, including the differences between a memoir and an essay collection, the level of involvement from editors and publishers, and how she personally approaches writing a memoir or essays. </strong></p> <p><span id="more-6001304"></span></p> <p><em>This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).</em></p> <h2><strong>Highlights</strong></h2> <ul> <li>Mary Laura talks about her latest book, <a href= "https://amzn.to/3JfG4CR">Bomb Shelter</a>.</li> <li>Where memoirs and essay collections fall on a spectrum.</li> <li>The fluidity of genre-labeling books.</li> <li>A bit about cover design and subtitles.</li> <li>How Mary Laura feels about the “Literary” label.</li> <li>The planning of an essay collection and their overarching themes.</li> <li>Balancing living life for its own sake and living life for good book content.</li> <li>How Mary Laura handles telling personal stories and the real people they feature.</li> <li>How Mary Laura handles memory and recall in her work.</li> <li>The fact-checking process for memoirs and essays.</li> </ul> <h2><strong>Mary Laura’s Book Recommendations</strong> <a class= "spp-timestamp">[32:31]</a></h2> <p><strong>Two OLD Books She Loves</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3ukscCY">Hamnet</a> by Maggie O’Farrell</strong> | <a href= "https://amzn.to/3ukscCY">Amazon</a> | <a href= "https://bookshop.org/a/24569/9781984898876">Bookshop.org</a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sarsbooshe04-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B01BD1SSO4" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" loading="lazy" /><img src= "http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sarsbooshe04-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00N6PCZO0" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" loading= "lazy" /> <a class="spp-timestamp">[32:47]</a></li> <li><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3jigSky">Notes on a Silencing