Memoirist John W. Evans on Memoir and Fiction.

John W. Evans is currently the Draper Lecturer of Creative Nonfiction at Stanford University, where he was previously a Jones Lecturer and a Wallace Stegner Fellow. He is the award-winning author of two memoirs, Young Widower and Should I Still Wish, and a book of poetry, The Consolations. He recently finished his first novel, Spring Past. 

I have long been fascinated by the semi-permeable membrane between fiction and memoir—in fact, the membranes between fiction and historical fiction and creative nonfiction and memoir. Who better to answer my questions than John? What does the Draper Lecturer in Creative Nonfiction have to say about writing a novel? And what did the act of writing his novel have to say to John?

Discover the answers to all these questions in this video of our astoundingly frank conversation.

If you missed my chat with Lisa Manterfield on July 23rd, with lots of great insight into self publishing vs. the traditional route, here’s the link to the video.

And here are a few additional opportunities that might be of interest.

1. The Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow are inviting applications for two fellowships, Real People, Real Struggles, Real Stories: Writing about Mental Illness Fellowship (submissions deadline midnight on Monday, August 31, 2020) and Illuminating Black Lives: A Writer's Fellowship (submissions deadline midnight on Monday, October 26, 2020).

Fellowship winners will each receive a two-week, all-expense-paid residency to allow the recipient to focus completely on their work. Each writer’s suite has a bedroom, private bathroom, separate writing space, and wireless internet. The Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow provides uninterrupted writing time, a European-style gourmet dinner prepared five nights a week and served in our community dining room, the camaraderie of other professional writers when you want it, and a community kitchen stocked with the basics for breakfast and lunch.

You can find out more about these fellowships here.

2. The lovely Susan Bono may be stepping down from her long stewardship of Noyo River Review, but she's not going quietly into the night. In fact, Susan will present Solace of Cherries along with a brief craft talk and writing exercise on Sunday, August 16th as part of Marlene Cullen's Writer's Forum. Please visit for the full schedule and zoom-in information.

3. We've had to cancel our September writers' retreat at Green Gulch, which is very disappointing! Both new dates and new venues are now being considered. If you think you might be interested (Covid-safety allowing) in joining a three-day retreat (Thursday to Sunday) some time in late fall, please register your interest here to receive an early-bird notification once arrangements are made.

Hope to see you on Zoom when I chat to John. I need not tell you what a great opportunity this is. Make use of it!

In the meantime, happy writing!

Shirin