Pulitzer Winner Jennifer Senior on Knowing Your Voice (Ep 8)

In this Write Big session of the #amwriting podcast, host Jennie Nash welcomes Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Jennifer Senior for a powerful conversation about finding, knowing, and claiming your voice.

Jennifer shares how a medication once stripped away her ability to think in metaphor—the very heart of her writing—and what it was like to get that voice back. She and Jennie talk about how voice strengthens over time, why confidence and ruthless editing matter, and what it feels like when you’re truly writing in flow.

It’s an inspiring reminder that your voice is your greatest strength—and worth honoring every time you sit down to write.

TRANSCRIPT BELOW!

THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:

* Jennifer’s Fresh Air interview with Terry Gross: Can’t Sleep? You’re Not Alone

* Atlantic feature story: What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind

* Atlantic feature story: The Ones We Sent Away

* Atlantic feature story: It’s Your Friends Who Break Your Heart

* The New York Times article: Happiness Won’t Save You

* Heavyweight the podcast

SPONSORSHIP MESSAGE

Hey, it’s Jennie Nash. And at Author Accelerator, we believe that the skills required to become a great book coach and build a successful book coaching business can be taught to people who come from all kinds of backgrounds and who bring all kinds of experiences to the work. But we also know that there are certain core characteristics that our most successful book coaches share. If you’ve been curious about becoming a book coach, and 2026 might be the year for you, come take our quiz to see how many of those core characteristics you have. You can find it at bookcoaches.com/characteristics-quiz.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Jennie Nash

Hi, I’m Jennie Nash, and you’re listening to the Hashtag AmWriting