Artist Recovery Podcast

Artist Recovery Podcast is Bringing Light to the Darkside of Art. I’m Rich Wright, your host — and here we're redefining recovery as Renewal, Resilience and Creative Transformation. Because for artists, it’s more than survival… it’s Remembering.
This show is about the real journey of being a working creative — the highs, the lows, the pivots, and the reinventions that shape who we are. Together we’ll explore how setbacks can spark transformation, how loss can open new paths, and how resilience fuels the heart of every artist’s story.
If you’ve ever faced doubt, setback, or the call to reinvent yourself, you’re in the right place. Let’s recover — and create — together.”

Want to be a guest on Artist Recovery Podcast? Send Rich Wright a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/artistrecovery

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Artist Recovery Podcast

Artist Recovery Podcast S2 Ep. 10 | Laura Stanfill on Creativity, Courage & Finding Your Voice

March 06, 2026 • Rich Wright • Season 2 • Episode 10

0:00 | 1:51:02

What happens when a quiet, neurodivergent kid who couldn't raise her hand in class grows up to found a literary press, publish award-winning fiction, and write the novel she dreamed of since second grade? You get Laura Stanfill — and this conversation is one you don't want to miss.

Laura Stanfill is the founder of Forest Avenue Press, author of Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary, and one of the most quietly powerful forces in independent literary publishing. In this episode, she opens up about growing up in a New Jersey home full of player pianos and air horns, being the quiet kid who found her voice through the written word, navigating a controlling college relationship that nearly broke her spirit, and how moving to Oregon with nothing but a car and a dream helped her rebuild from the inside out.
This isn't just a publishing episode. It's a conversation about resilience, creativity, neurodivergence, and what it actually takes to keep believing in your work when the world hasn't said yes yet.

In this episode:
— Growing up in a house full of musical oddities and how it shaped a creative mind
— How a 5th grade teacher changed everything by letting classmates beg to hear more of her stories
— Writing as a safe harbor for kids who feel like outsiders
— The college years that dimmed her light
— and why none of it was her fault
— Moving cross-country right after 9/11 with no safety net and no plan
— The 6-foot weed growing through concrete that became her metaphor for survival
— Why the book nobody was waiting for
— the one she just played with — was the one that sold
— The story of Keisha Ajo Fisher: an author who stopped waiting for permission and won an Oregon Book Award
— Real talk on self-publishing vs. agents vs. small presses
— and how to choose YOUR path
— Why honoring your creative spark matters more than chasing what's already selling

Connect with Laura:
Website: https://laurastanfill.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/laura.stanfill.98
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lhstanfill

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