Writing Partnerships with Rebecca Winthrop and Jenny Anderson

“If the language isn’t there, I have difficulty showing up for the idea” - Jenny AndersonJess here. Rebecca Winthrop, Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, and Jenny Anderson, award-winning journalist, paired up to write one of my favorite education and parenting books in recent memory: The Disengaged Teen. While I adore the book and could go on for ages about it, that’s not why I invited these two to come on the podcast. I am fascinated - and strangely horrified - by the idea of co-writing. Maybe it’s my control issues, who knows. I’ve asked Sarina Bowen about her writing partnerships with Tanya Eby and Elle Kennedy (come ON now, have you read their award-winning trilogy, Him, Us and Epic?) so I thought I’d give her a bit of a break and ask Rebecca and Jenny to tell me all about how their writing collaboration went with this book. I learned a lot during this podcast, but the thing I’m definitely taking with me is the concept of “clearing” before a collaboration or writing session. I’ve tried it a few times and so far, I love it. No, I can’t find any links for this specific practice despite the breadcrumbs “Narrative company” and “clearing,” so if you find out on your own, drop me a line so I can give credit where credit is due. Edited: A lovely listener came through! https://www.narativ.uk/Things we mention in the episode: Jenny’s Substack, How to Be BraveRebecca’s newsletter over at LinkedIn, Winthrop’s World of EducationSharepointQUICK NOTE for non-fiction writers! Friend of the pod Christie Aschwanden is running her non-fiction book proposal workshop again for the first time since 2022. It’s 8 weeks long and participants are carefully vetted (requires an application) and it’s had great results in the past. All details HERE: The Book Proposal Factory. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe