Listen:
ATTENTION AMA EVENT ON SEPTEMBER 5THThis is your chance to sign up for an AMA with me and Aly Walanksy, a journalist who has nearly 10K subscribers on September 5th 4:30-5:30 pm EST via Zoom. We will cover all your questions about writing, pitching, publishing, getting editors and pr people to notice you (perks, people). Email me at [email protected] to snag your spot and get your Zoom link. You don’t want to miss this. I hope to see you there. Aly’s episode #99 is here.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program, my episode with the fabulous Elissa Bassist. I met Elissa at the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop this year (I wrote a post about it) where we were both faculty and presenters. More on Erma in this episode #59 with Teri Rizvi, founder and director of the Workshop.
I loved Elissa’s deadpan humor and devoured her book Hysterical, which is as she coined, a “traumedy.” As you can see throughout the episode, I completely appreciate Elissa’s style, humor, voice, and way of being in the world.
In This Episode:
- Writing with humor on heavy topics aka “traumedy”
- Why Elissa wrote Hysterical
- The value of researching her book and how Elissa did it
- The Importance of external validation
- Why its essential to work with an agent and editor who understands you
- The life affirming advice she received from Cheryl Strayed
- An unusual horror film that put her life in perspective
- Standing up to your editor and agents and why you might need to break up with them
- Explaining why the footnote was the essay
- Cultivating an external world for your book in the midst of great interiority
- The benefits of stalking (and writing about) your obsessions
- Elissa’s role at The Rumpus
- Her next big project
Watch on YouTube
About Elissa
Elissa Bassist is the editor of the “Funny Women” column on The Rumpus and the author of the award-deserving memoir Hysterical. As a founding contributor to The Rumpus, she’s written cultural and personal criticism since the website launched in 2009. Most recently her writing appears in her newsletter, Tragedy Plus Time. Elissa teaches humor writing at The New School, 92NY, Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and elsewhere, and she is probably her therapist’s favorite. Her next book is INSIDE JOKES: A Comedy and Creativity Guide for All People, coming in 2026.
Connect with Elissa
Website | Classes | Newsletters
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Elissa’s viral piece on the Human Centipede for The Paris Review
Get Hysterical at Estelle’s Bookshop
Connect with Estelle
Watch Estelle’s episode #38 with Cheryl Strayed (who gave the advice to Elissa she mentions in Episode #101)
Sign up for Estelle’s Personal Essay Class for Writer’s Digest
Sign up for her Memoir, Essays and Articles Class at NYU
Get Her Award-Winning Book: Writing That Gets Noticed
Order Estelle’s Audiobook for Writing That Gets Noticed
Sign up for her Substack (with craft advice and writing opportunities). Paid subscribers receive opportunities for pitch reviews, plus bonus clips from Freelance Writing Direct guests.
Estelle’s latest Substack post on Micro Memoir (plus an offer for paid subscribers)
Follow Estelle on Social Media
