#077: Guinevere Turner — Writing 'Go Fish', 'American Psycho', Crafting Memoir & Excavating Memories of Growing Up in a Cult

Actress and writer Guinevere Turner on her unconventional journey from screenwriting to memoir. We explore her process of writing the cult queer film "Go Fish," produced on a modest $15,000 budget, co-writing the screenplay for Bret Ellis's book American Psycho. We also discuss her recently released memoir, When the World Didn’t End, about her childhood in the infamous Lyman Family cult, and how she approaches writing challenging material, how she decided to capture her childhood in the memoir and advice she’d give memoirists trying to find the arc in their memoir.

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ABOUT GUINEVERE TURNER 

Guinevere Turner is a writer, director and actor who has worked in film and TV since her 1994 debut film Go Fish, which she wrote, produced and starred in. She teamed up with director Mary Harron to write the films American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page and the 2019 film Charlie Says. She was a writer and story editor on Showtime’s The L Word, and she played the recurring character Gabby Deveaux on that show. She has written and directed seven short films, two of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. She can be seen in film roles that include The Watermelon Woman, Chasing Amy, American Psycho and The L Word. Her latest screenplay, Charlie Says, was directed by Mary Harron and opened in theaters and on digital platforms in May of 2019. Guinevere has taught screenwriting at Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, University of Georgia, UCLA and NYU. Her memoir When the World Didn’t End charts her time in the Lyman Cult.

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RESOURCES & LINKS

• 📄 Interview Transcript (unedited)
• Go Fish
• American Psycho
• The L Word 
• Guinevere’s memoir, When the World Didn’t End
• Guinevere’s New Yorker essay, My Childhood in a Cult, that led to her memoir 

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For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.com.

For free writing sessions, join free Writers’ Hours: writershour.com.

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FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS’ SALON

Twitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalon

Instagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalon

Facebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalon

If you’re enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!