Humor, Reporting, and Personal Obsessions with Kelly Conaboy

Humor, Reporting, and Personal Obsessions with Kelly Conaboy | The Long Leash #46

When Kelly Conaboy’s magazine editors stopped taking pitches about her dog Peter, she was forced to write her hilarious, heartwarming “dogoir” The Particulars of Peter.

Show Notes

Kelly Conaboy was an accomplished New York Magazine writer when she fostered – and quickly adopted – Peter, a small black dog. The quintessential New Yorker (currently writing for Gawker) found herself obsessed with her new roommate. As she rearranged her life to share it with Peter, she generated endless ideas for magazine stories … all of which were based on her own obsession with this amazing, soulful creature.

Her editors indulged Conaboy’s story pitches … to a point. When they finally told her “No more Peter-inspired stories,” she had to find another outlet. She turned to “dogoir” and penned her own canine memoir about her life with Peter.

The book is, like Conaboy, very funny. It’s also heartwarming. THE PARTICULARS OF PETER: Dance Lessons, DNA Tests, and Other Excuses to Hang Out with My Perfect Dog, takes the reader on a journey with Peter and Kelly as they seek to understand the very essence of Peter. Along the way they encounter and engage veterinarians, ghost hunters, dog dancers, and ethicists.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Conaboy reveals how her specific writing style is driven by her own quirky view of the world – and how Peter’s entrance amped up her unique blend of humor, reportage, and memoir.

The Particulars of Peter: Dance Lessons, DNA Tests, and Other Excuses to Hang Out with My Perfect Dog by Kelly Conaboy is available everywhere books are sold.

My Dog Tulip by J.R. Ackerley is available everywhere books are sold.

About Kelly Conaboy

Kelly Conaboy is a writer living in Brooklyn, NY. She is author of the book The Particulars of Peter, and is currently a senior features writer at Gawker.

Website: https://www.kellyconaboy.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyconaboy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kellyconaboy

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