Teddy Wayne joins Some Things Considered to discuss his new novel, The Au Pair, a psychological thriller about a once-celebrated novelist whose obsession with his family's au pair leads to scandal, public scrutiny, and personal collapse. But beneath the book's propulsive plot lies a deeper exploration of ambition, desire, insecurity, and the precarious state of literary culture.

Teddy discusses how the novel began with an idea inspired by Anatomy of a Fall and evolved from a short story originally conceived as potential film IP into a full-fledged novel. The conversation explores the challenges of writing complex characters in an era of heightened sensitivity around sex, power, and gender, as well as the difficulty of creating a character like Astrid who can never be reduced to a simple victim-or-villain narrative. Teddy reflects on the realities facing contemporary novelists, the shrinking market for literary fiction, and the increasingly difficult economics of building a sustainable writing career.

Throughout the conversation, he offers a candid look at the changing landscape of publishing, teaching, and storytelling—and what it means to pursue a creative life when the traditional paths to success are becoming harder to find.

Some key topics of discussion include:

• The influence of Anatomy of a Fall

• Writing sex from a male perspective

• Literary fame and irrelevance

• The shrinking market for literary fiction

• The collapse of traditional teaching opportunities

• Adapting novels for film and television

• Status, masculinity, and creative ambition

• The blurry line between victim and villain

• Why ambiguity remains essential to fiction

Teddy Wayne is the author of the novels The Au Pair, The Winner, The Great Man Theory, Apartment, Loner, The Love Song of Jonny Valentine, and Kapitoil. He is the winner of a Whiting Writers' Award and an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship as well as a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award, PEN/Bingham Prize, and Dayton Literary Peace Prize. A former columnist for the New York Times and McSweeney's and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, he has taught at Columbia University and Washington University in St. Louis. He has developed films and series from his novels with Columbia Pictures, HBO, MGM Television, and others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, the writer Kate Greathead, and their children.

X (formerly Twitter): @TeddyWayne1999
Website: teddywayne.com

Award-winning author Sean Murphy in conversation with creative thinkers, spanning the literary, music, art, politics, and tech industries. As a cultural critic, professor, founder of a literary non-profit, Sean is always looking to explore and celebrate the ways Story is integral to how we define ourselves, as artists and human beings. This Substack newsletter and weekly podcast peels back the layers of how creativity works, why it matters, how our most brilliant minds achieve mastery. Join us to explore how our most successful and inspired storytellers engage by discussing craft, routines, brand, and mostly through authentic and honest expression.

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