Chapter 4: Interview

One way that stories can be shared is through interviews. Interviews hold significant value to both authors and readers. Interviews are important to nonfiction writing and can be a technique for creative nonfiction. Interviews fall more into the journalism part of creative nonfiction, specifically literary journalism where the interviewee can decide if they want to play a role in the interview and have a voice.

For Authors:

Interviews provide visibility. Through interviews, authors have a platform to showcase their personalities, ideas, and work to a broader audience. This allows authors to engage with that audience and connect with their readers. It humanizes the author and allows them to share their inspiration and creative process. Interviews also provide a networking resource for authors to build relationships, not just with readers, but with other interviewers, media outlets, and sponsors. These can lead to future collaborations.

For Readers:
Interviews give readers a glimpse into the mind of the author and their background, motivations, and perspectives. From the author, readers might learn about the layers within a book and insight into themes, characters, and plots, some of which could have been overlooked without the author's guidance. This helps build engagement between the reader and the author. Readers feel more connected to their favorite authors and knowing an author's backstory or motivation can create a stronger emotional connection, leading to a more immersive reading experience. Additionally, interviews introduce a reader to new authors or books.

There is also a specific form of literary journalism and creative nonfiction called the doocu-memoir which involves the "creative nonfiction writer interviewing and audio-taping ordinary people for their unusual life experience as the resource material for a literary production." You can read more about docu-memoir's from Jo Parnell in The European Journal of Life Writing.

Interview Sources

In Chapter 1, we reviewed an interview with Cheryl Strayed and her book-turned-to-movie Wild, and in Chapter 2; we reviewed an interview with Allison Bechdel. Both interviews were hosted by reliable networks. There are a lot of great resources available to find interviews (from interviews with a movie cast to authors). Some of the best resources are news outlets like Today, CBS News, ABC News, The Daily Show, NPR, and 60 Minutes. These outlets have spent years developing a credible reputation forreporting and are skilled at conducting interviews over a wide range of topics.

Below is a list of example interviews with authors from a variety of news outlets. Each example will include a few specific interview tips to look for while watching the interview.

Interview with Colleen Hoover and Today. Colleen Hoover is a well-known author, most known for It Ends With Us. In this interview, the interview starts with Colleen talking about her childhood and when she knew she wanted to start writing. From this question, the interview uses photos and voice-overs from the interview to highlight moments of Colleen's childhood.

Interview with ABC News and Margaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood is a successful author whose most known work is The Handmaid's Tale. In this interview, Atwood is asked why she thinks The Handmaid's Tale resonates with so many people. The interview has a bit of a political tone as it moves into the question "what gives you hope in the face of what many women say, and the setbacks with women's rights?". However, Atwood navigates this question well by giving her own opinions and perspectives, connecting with her audience, and building awareness of women's rights.

Interview with 60 Minutes and John Green. John Green is a well-known author and YouTube content creator. Many of his works have been turned into Hollywood films. In this interview, Green sharesa vulnerable part of his life when he shares how he became a writer. In this clip, he also shares writing advice. This interview shows a good example of how the interviewer's role is to make the interviewee feel comfortable and encourage them to share their voice.

Interview with The Daily Show and Angie Thomas. Angie Thomas is an advocate and well-known author of The Hate You Give. In this interview, Thomas shares her perspective on YA books that contain profanity and censorship of books. In this interview, the interviewee demonstrates they are well-researched (or at least their team is) before conducting the interview as they as able to ask very specific questions that relate to the author. For example, "some schools didn't want to take your book due to the profanity, how did you respond to that?" This example shows how an interviewer can guide the conversation in a direction they want but it's still up to the interviewee to provide the answers.

Tips for a Successful Interview

Establish Rapport - greet your guest warmly, embrace small talk, create a comfortable atmosphere, provide water, etc. Building rapport helps ease any nervousness and will help your interview significantly.
Be an Active Listener - be attentive, maintain eye contact, don't play with your phone or gadgets, and no distractions. The person you are interviewing has given time out of their schedule to be with you, so treat them like their time is valuable.
Ask Open-Ended Questions - frame questions in a way that encourages detailed and expansive responses. Don't ask - did you have a good childhood? Instead, ask, how do you think your childhood shaped you to become the artist you are today?
Research - Be prepared for your interview. Know who you are interviewing. That doesn't mean you have to know them personally but do your homework. Read the books they published that you plan on talking about in your interview. Find their bio on their publisher's website. Look for other interviews they've been on. If they have content on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube, engage with that content. Find things about them that interest you and your audience so that you can customize your conversation to be personal but also related to your own brand.
Conversational - Be conversational, this isn't an interrogation. It's not a job interview (however, job interviews can be successful if you use these techniques too). Listen to what your interviewee is saying and build on it. Ask follow-up questions. Connect their responses to things they've said earlier or in other sessions you've been to.
Be Respectful - be aware of your surroundings and make sure you are aware of how your interviewee is responding. Do they seem like they are becoming uncomfortable (stuttering, fidgeting, etc.) or upset (leaning away, closing off from answers)? If this happens, take a pause and ask if your interviewee needs a break. In some cases, you can also just say that you need to take a quick break which gives them a chance to relax. Then, (preferably with the recording off) you can check in with them to see if they are okay to continue.

With all those tips in mind, here is a video (below) of an interview with Dakota Johnson and Ellen on The Ellen Show. This is an interview "gone wrong" where the interviewer wasn't as well researched on the interviewee (aka, references her birthday party and asks why she wasn't invited when she was) or where the interviewee is uncomfortable and their discomfort makes them say things they might not have said originally (like the reference to Ellen's "favorite comedian."

(Source: The Ellen Show)