E. Jean Carroll on Untold Stories That Have To Be Told
This week we have a historically important memoirist on the show. E. Jean Carroll risked her privacy and her reputation to charge President Trump with sexual assault. He was convicted for those crimes. E. Jean Carroll is a writer and an author who penned a memoir about being on trial—and how when women are victimized and assaulted, they’re slut-shamed, discredited, and scrutinized. In this interview, E. Jean tells us about her writing choices, why she opted for a breezier and often-times funny tone on such a serious topic, and why she’s not afraid. In the book trend, we talk about preorders: why and how they matter and why Amazon has such a corner on them.
E. Jean Carroll is a journalist and longtime advice columnist best known for her column “Ask E. Jean” in Elle, which ran for over 25 years. She has written for Esquire, Outside, and Saturday Night Live. Carroll is the author of Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President, about the two sexual abuse cases she won against Trump, as well as two earlier books, a biography of Hunter S. Thompson and What Do We Need Men For? Her high-profile legal victories against Donald Trump have elevated her as a symbol of resilience and truth-telling.
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Roy Wood Jr. on the Legacies We Inherit and Pass On
This week, Memoir Nation connects with comedian Roy Wood Jr. on the serious topic of legacy—what we inherit and what we pass on. Wood’s new memoir, The Man of Many Fathers, explores the many influences in his life, and how a complicated relationship with his own father, including losing him when Wood was just sixteen, informs how he parents his son. This is a touching and heartfelt interview about life, loss, and the hope we all have for our children, or the children in our lives. For the Book Trend, we tap into a bit of darkness in honor of Halloween, and offer up a few forthcoming true crime memoirs that are getting some early buzz.
Roy Wood Jr. is a two-time Emmy-nominated writer and producer. He is a comedian, actor, and podcaster who is primarily known for his stand-up comedy and work as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show for eight years and hosting CNN’s Have I Got News for You. He hosted the 2023 White House Correspondents’ dinner and this year’s 85th Peabody Awards. He has created original half-hour scripted projects at FOX, NBC, and Comedy Central. He is the former host of the award-winning Comedy Central podcast The Daily Show: Beyond the Scenes. He remains a regular guest star on various ESPN shows, and he lives in New York.
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Mallary Tenore Tarpley on Writing Your Memoir When You’re Still Living the Story
Memoir Nation is celebrating imperfection, unresolved storylines, and the art of positive obsession this week with guest Mallary Tenore Tarpley, author of the new memoir, Slip. This week’s episode has so much good stuff for memoirists—including Mallary’s story of tenacity (she was rejected many many times on her first time out the gate with this book); her pivot to memoir-plus, and her insights on writing a memoir with an unusual structure. This is fuel any memoirist needs to stay the course and believe in the project you’re being called to write. Also, over at Memoir Nation, we’ve formally launched our community, and we hope you’ll come and check it out under the “Community” menu tab at MemoirNation.com.
Mallary Tenore Tarpley is a journalism and writing professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication and McCombs School of Business. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, and The Tampa Bay Times, among other publications. She is the recipient of a prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant, which has helped support her research and writing. Mallary holds bachelor’s degrees from Providence College, as well as a master’s of fine arts in nonfiction writing from Goucher College. She lives outside of Austin, Texas, with her husband and two children. Slip is her first book.
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Regina Brooks on the Business of Memoir
This week we’re treated to the deep expertise, wisdom, and compassion of agent Regina Brooks. Regina has lots of experience shaping and selling memoirs to publishers. In this week’s show, we talk about what makes a memoir saleable, but also about what Regina looks for when memoir projects cross her desk. We cover author platform, celebrity memoir, and advice for memoirists looking to get published. Regina even invites our listeners (when they’re ready) to send her their proposals. A great and much-needed publishing interview, memoir-style. Also, in today’s Book Trend Brooke and Grant take the space to apologize for a recent ad spot run on Memoir Nation that they did not and do not endorse.
Regina Brooks is the founder and CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency in New York, the largest African American–owned agency in the US. She is the president of the Association of American Literary Agents (AALA) and coproducer of the People of Publishing Conference and a founding member of Literary Agents of Change (LAOC) and the Black Book Accelerator. Brooks is the author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults and You Should Really Write a Book: How to Write, Sell, and Market Your Memoir. Brooks is a copublisher with Open Lens, an imprint of Akashic Books. Brooks has been highlighted in The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. When she’s not agenting, she’s gardening, fishing, and flying her own plane (always in a dress).
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Kwame Alexander on Saying Yes!
This week’s episode is one that’s full of joy and inspiration and the payoffs of believing in yourself. Guest Kwame Alexander is one of the most upbeat, persistent, and tenacious people in book publishing, and we’re honored that he SAID YES to coming back to Memoir Nation seven years after his first appearance. This week’s show is about the power of yes and where yes can lead you—and we touch upon when and how to cultivate no, since sometimes you simply have to. Kwame shares stories from his past and how he became a 26-year overnight success story, and Grant and Brooke weigh in on how they balance (mostly) yes and (sometimes) no. Listen in!
Also, for those interested in learning more about the Anthropic case that’s this week’s Book Trend, we encourage you to visit Brooke’s Substack, Writerly Things, for this week’s update.
Kwame Alexander is an Emmy® Award-winning producer of The Crossover, his Newbery Medal-winning novel turned Disney+ TV series, the creator of the new animated PBS special Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Band, and the host of America’s Next Great Author, the first reality television show for writers which will premiere in 2026. He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 46 books, including his memoir, Why Fathers Cry at Night. A recipient of the 2025 NAACP Image Award, Kwame regularly shares his passion for literacy, books and the craft of writing around the world, including Ghana, West Africa, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic. His mission is to change the world—one word at a time.
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Memoir Nation: Weekly Inspiration for Writers is an extension of the Memoir Nation community hosted by Brooke Warner and Grant Faulkner, two friends and colleagues who bring a community-minded sensibility to the writing journey. Originally launched as Write-minded in 2018, this is a weekly writing podcast that focuses on memoir and personal writing, as well as industry trends and tips and resources for writers and authors.
Memoir Nation features a segment called Book Alley at the end of each episode to talk about recent memoirs that authors have sent Brooke and Grant, or memoirs they've discovered that are thought provoking or have sparked inspiration. Brooke and Grant bring to this weekly podcast their deeply held belief that everyone is a writer, and everyone’s story matters. Discover more about Memoir Nation at memoirnation.com.
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