Working: Writing Bestsellers With Anderson Cooper

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3.8 • 546 Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2023

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, host June Thomas talks to Katherine Howe, a writer of both historical fiction and nonfiction books. In the interview, Katherine starts by discussing her upcoming novel A True Account, which tells a fictional story about the very real Golden Age of Piracy. Then she talks about her work collaborating with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper on historical nonfiction books. Their latest is called Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune. After the interview, June and co-host Kristen Meinzer discuss the challenges of juggling multiple projects and the use of “storytelling habits.” In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Katherine shares some of her favorite works of historical fiction. She also explains her fascination with witches. Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-9675. Podcast production by Cameron Drews. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get an ad-free experience across the network and exclusive content on many shows—you’ll also be supporting the work we do here on Working. Sign up now at slate.com/workingplus to help support our work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's interesting because he is a journalist and I'm a historian.
0:15.0	For a historian, the truth is what we can plausibly argue from what the archive tells up.
0:23.5	In journalism, it has to be much more narrow.
0:24.7	Is it true or is it not?
0:27.7	I discovered that we had a different definition of true.
0:31.2	Welcome back to working.
0:33.1	I'm your host, Kristen Meinser.
0:36.0	And I am your other host, June Thomas.
0:39.8	June, it is always a joy to be back on mic with you.
0:47.5	And I am especially excited this week because you are sharing a conversation with us that is, frankly, right up my alley.
0:50.2	Tell us whose voice we heard at the top of the show.
0:52.7	Well, that was Catherine Howe.
0:56.6	She's a novelist, a historian, and an incredibly productive writer. Yes. And full disclosure, I just read Vanderbilt. That's Catherine Howe's book with
1:04.0	Anderson Cooper a few months ago, and I loved it. I am on the waiting list for their next book
1:08.3	Astor at the library now, only four more months
1:11.1	until that book comes in for me. And I am just a huge fan of historical fiction in general.
1:18.0	But June, why did you want to talk with Catherine Howe? So there were a number of reasons. In a funny
1:24.7	way, I associate this time of year, which is to say around Halloween,
1:28.7	when the veil between the worlds is very thin with Catherine. She's written a bunch of books
1:33.0	about witches, including putting together the penguin book of witches. So she's often in the
1:37.7	media in late October. She also has a really big book out right now, which you mentioned, which she co-wrote with
1:45.5	Anderson Cooper, Aster, which we talked about. And I'm just fascinated by people who are
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