Where Are They Now?

What past TCL guests were up to in 2021

I got to thinking the other day just how much past guests of This Creative Life have accomplished this year, and rather than try to align everyone’s schedule to make an episode of it, I thought I’d get it into a list so we can admire all its glory.

I sat down this afternoon to comb through the archives and document as much as I could. Maybe this will highlight something you missed, or remind you of a past favorite episode, or inspire you in some way in your own work! Each person’s episode is noted in the parentheses following the name.

Without further ado:

• Tara Altebrando (1): is the creator and writer of multiple seasons of the Dream Breachers original podcast for Pinna, which continued in 2021

• Malinda Lo (38): won the National Book Award (!) for her 2021 novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club 🏆

• Jasmine Guillory (58): brought us While We Were Dating, an instant NYT best seller and favorite read of summer 2021

• Katie Cotugno (55): sold her adult novel, Birds of California, which will be out in mid-2022 but don’t let that stop you from ordering it now ↓

• A.S. King (10): published her tenth YA novel, Switch, (I think I counted right!) to much critical acclaim

• Walter Chaw (73): has a visual essay episode in David Fincher’s VOIR series on Netflix (a must-see anthology if you love movies)

• Brandy Colbert (53): saw her nonfiction book Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre come out in October and garner numerous accolades, including an amazing six starred reviews

• Daniel Kraus (50): wrote an episode of Creepshow appropriately titled “Pipe Screams” and finished out the eight-issue comic series The Autumnal, written by Daniel and illustrated by Chris Shehan

• Varian Johnson (42): published his MG novel, Playing the Cards You’re Dealt, an Indie Next pick and recipient of several starred reviews

• Sarah Enni (75): hit the 1,000,000 download milestone of her podcast First Draft, which I assume you know about! If you don’t, you need to check it out 🎧

• Scott Derrickson (13): directed and co-wrote The Black Phone (based on a story by Joe Hill), which premiered in September 2021 and will be released theatrically in 2022 for those who are brave enough to see it

• Corey Ann Haydu (48): published a new MG novel, One Jar of Magic, which got four starred reviews from the trades. She also started a newsletter, and you can find it right here on Substack:

• Daniel Nayeri (66): took home the Printz Award for his autobiographical novel, Everything Sad is Untrue. (This made me really happy.)

• Maureen Goo (69): scored deals to have two (2!) of her novels developed into features at Netflix

• Daniel Bowman, Jr. (54): published his collection of essays, On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity and boy do I love this book

• Rita Williams-Garcia (64): published her historical novel, A Sitting in St. James, in May, receiving an incredible seven starred reviews. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Booklist called it “monumental.” Not to play favorites, but episode 64 happens to be one of mine:

Ep 64: Author Rita Williams-Garcia

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I’m sure I’ve leaving something or someone out here, but this is way more than I thought there would be when I sat down to put this together and the sun is setting (literally, in my time zone) on 2021! I feel lucky to know all these folks and inspired by their hard work.

Stay tuned to the podcast for new guests in the coming months as all our schedules allow, as well as the final episodes of The Launch Box series. I’m also excited about the This Creative Life book and everything I’m learning about indie publishing as I pull that together.

See you back in your inbox in 2022!