My nonfiction writing covers a wide variety of topics including the art of storytelling, sustainability, health, culture, and education. I also write personal stories of my journey as a writer and cancer survivor. Below are links to some of my favorite pieces that I’ve created and interviews about my creative work.
The art of storytelling
I am the creator and host of the monthly live storytelling show, NYC’s Secrets & Lies
Chapter Break author feature about me and my Emerson Page novel trilogy
A Publisher Bought My YA Novel Trilogy—Here’s Everything I Did Wrong
The query letter that helped me attract a publisher
How I found the main setting for my third Emerson Page novel
How writing my Emerson Page novel series saved my life
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo blog): What NaNoWriMo Gave Me as an Author and a Person
How Writing Frees Us to Free Others
Author interview on Cheddar TV
Lit to Lens podcast feature
How research helps writers get unstuck
The book Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks is a masterpiece about storytelling
I wrote, directed, and produced the stage play Sing After Storms – a finalist for Best Play at the New York Theatre Festival
Climate and Sustainability
Why We’re Afraid of the Heat, and How We Can Use It to Mitigate Climate Change (Medium Staff added this piece to their What We’re Reading List)
Climate Change Will Impact Everything Everywhere All at Once
Wall Street is coming for our water: A cautionary tale from Colorado
Mountain Lions and Rats and Bears Oh My: We’re Running Out of Room for Animals
Canadian Wildfires Impacting NYC Air Quality
Urban ecology that saved Argentina’s Rosario held up as a model for others (Mongabay)
Impossibly Living in Possibility: Science and nature as mentors in challenging times (Natural History Magazine)
What is the moss of New York? (Medium curator-featured story in Cities, Outdoors, and Environment)
I wrote, directed, edited, and voiced the short film Beyond Plastic
Health
I Found My Voice While Fighting to Breathe (Pipeline Artists)
The Great Reframe—How to Survive and Thrive Through Any Difficulty (Pipeline Artists)
I’m just happy to be here—remembering the day I almost wasn’t (Medium curator-featured story in Mental Health)
Personal Finance Lessons From My Yoga Mat (Elephant Journal)
9 Techniques That Can Help You Conquer Any Fear (Wise Bread)
How to Stop Being Afraid and Live Your Dreams (Wise Bread)
The gift of a stroke (The Washington Post)
Metabolic surgery paves the way to health and happiness for a mother of five (The Washington Post)
A Backstage View of Weight Loss Surgery at Sentara (The Washington Post)
Phineas’s adoption story
I wrote, directed, and performed voiceover for this healthcare product video
Culture, Society, and History
I was the Associate Producer for the PBS music series Live at 9:30
New York. What a character. (Pipeline Artists)
Change by Design—Remembering C.T. Vivian and John Lewis (Medium curator-featured story in Race and Equality)
The Celtic Diaspora (Inside History magazine feature)
If Organized Crime Could Make It In New York…It Could Make It Anywhere (Inside History magazine feature)
Brave Genius: A Scientist, a Philosopher, and their Daring Adventures From the French Resistance to the Nobel Prize (SimplyCharly)
Ten Years In, YouTube is Still Going Strong (Magazine Feature)
Hope in Progress: 27 Entrepreneurs Who Inspired Me During the Great Recession is my free ebook that is a compilation of interviews I did with business leaders during the 2008-2010 recession. They include Alex Lee (OXO), Michael Dorf (City Winery), Jerri Chou (All Day Buffet), Scott Belsky (Behance—later acquired by Adobe), and Adam Rich (Thrillist).
Education
Through a Teacher’s Eyes: What New York City schools will be like with the hybrid model and why they deserve a better solution (Medium curator-featured story in Education)
Redesign New York City schools with teachers at the table (Medium curator-featured story in Education)
Washington Post Magazine Special Section – When a School Becomes a Community: Lessons on Mindfulness, Compassion, and Building a Better World
Build It and They Will Learn: How the Design of a School Impacts Learning
I directed this short film for the National STEM Video Game Challenge
Interviews about my work
Earthworks podcast with Marina Psaros – NYC’s Secrets & Lies: Using storytelling to combat misinformation and disinformation while promoting critical thinking and community
Interview on the Art Heals on Wounds podcast – Hope is a Renewable Resource: Fighting Fossil Fuel Narratives with Christa Avampato
Unearthing Wild Wonders podcast with Nicky Jenner – Nature inspired — home, healing, and biomimicry with Christa Avampato
Interview on the Stakeholder podcast with host Dr. Ed Freeman of the Darden School about making having a multi-dimensional career as a writer, author, biomimicry scientist, and business leader
Interview on the They Had Fun podcast about how much I loved being on The Drew Barrymore Show
What’s Next videocast: Washington D.C. Innovation in Society – I talk about entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology startups in D.C.
American Public Media – I talk about my favorite Christmas song and the importance of gratitude
Lit to Lens podcast – I talk about my novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, and YA literature
Wall Street Journal – How I see social media and the rise in popularity of economics blogs during the 2008 / 2009 recession
Huffington Post – How I brought yoga to underserved communities through the New York Public Library
Moving with Grace – I talk about writing, yoga, and the creative habit
The Digital Shift – I talk about the National STEM Video Game Challenge that I ran for Sesame Workshop
Creative Liberty – Part of the In the Studio… series. I talk about creative habits and how to recharge our creative batteries when they’re running low
Christa Avampato 