S6 Ep. 29: Live from New York: Curtis Sittenfeld on Dating Up, Writing Funny, and How SNL and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop Are Alike

Bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her new novel, Romantic Comedy, which begins behind the scenes at a television show similar to Saturday Night Live, where a female comedy writer is gobsmacked that her schlubby straight male co-workers keep dating famous women seemingly out of their league. Sittenfeld discusses dating up, women in the workplace, and the similarities between SNL and the Iowa Writers Workshop. Sittenfeld and Ganeshananthan crack up while reading from Romantic Comedy, and Sittenfeld discusses the surprising turn in her heroine’s love life, the complications of writing sex scenes, and how she dealt with the pressure to be funny when describing comedians.  To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This episode of the podcast was produced by Ryan Reed and Anne Kniggendorf. Curtis Sittenfeld Romantic Comedy Rodham Eligible American Wife “Gender Studies,” from The New Yorker Others: Live from New York by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller Bossypants by Tina Fey Pete Davidson on Marc Maron's WTF Podcast Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen David Spade on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend Podcast How to Write a Sketch for SNL from the Working it Out Podcast Saturday Night: Documentary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices