What exactly is “creative nonfiction”? Today we discuss this question with a writer who’s built his writing career on this sometimes debatable, somewhat elusive term: Brendan O’Meara, host of the Creative Nonfiction Podcast. Brendan says that “creative nonfiction” is a big umbrella, encompassing journalism, narrative nonfiction, personal essay, memoir, documentary films, and so much more. Brendan himself is in the process of writing a biography of legendary runner Steve Prefontaine, so he shares from his own experience about how (logistically) to do the massive amounts of research often required for creative nonfiction and how to build another world – even a past or present real one – for the reader. In creative nonfiction, the challenge is often finding or making meaning from true events, and Brendan shares the lessons he’s learned about Steve Prefontaine and about how we can all find lessons from the lives we witness.

Brendan O’Meara is a journalist and author and host of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, the show where he speaks to writers, producers, and filmmakers about the art of telling true stories. Come 2025, his biography on the legendary Oregon runner Steve Prefontaine will be published by Mariner Books. He’s not on social media, so he encourages you to head over to brendanomeara.com and sign up for his Rage Against the Algorithm newsletter for creative insights, recommendations, and a way to find a more intentional life online.