Andrea Pitzer is the author of three books of narrative nonfiction that explore untold histories. She was the editor of Nieman Storyboard from 2009-2012,
We recently noticed that Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard had expanded a series he had done for the paper into the book “You Will See Fire.” We’ve talked with other narrative journalists who have done … Read more
Our latest Notable Narrative is “Animals,” Chris Jones’ account of the creatures set loose from a private menagerie last fall in Zanesville, Ohio. The Esquire story works in part because Jones plays its two tones so sharply against … Read more
It’s time for our annual almost-spring listing of 2012 writing events and conferences. From California to Texas and Boston, there are options to work on your writing or storytelling … Read more
Susan Orlean’s “Orchid Fever” first ran in The New Yorker on January 23, 1995. It had a second life as a book, and a third as a movie, in which adapting the latter from … Read more
Reflections on Tiananmen Square 20 years on. A look at the use of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons today. A father rolling through an infantile old age as part of a new generation of “Immortals.” Here is a handful of … Read more
Our February Editors’ Roundtable tackled “The law creates barriers to getting care for the mentally ill,” a story by Meg Kissinger of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Addressing the difficult question of “imminent danger” and the mentally ill, Kissinger looked at … Read more
Our February Roundtable looks at “Law creates barriers to getting care for mentally ill,” by Meg Kissinger. In her narrative, Kissinger touches on violence, mental health and 40 years of debates over patients’ rights. The story of Martha … Read more
If character is destiny, you wouldn’t know it from reading our latest Notable Narrative. In “Did This Man Really Cut Michael Jordan?,” Thomas Lake introduces Clifton “Pop” Herring, the high school basketball coach of perhaps the greatest player … Read more
Our January Editors’ Roundtable looked at “After the battle, Mike Sword’s war within,” a story by Roanoke Times reporter Beth Macy about the death of an Air Force veteran in Virginia after service in Iraq. A former Nieman … Read more
Our January Roundtable looks at “After the battle, Mike Sword’s war within,” by Beth Macy. In her story, Macy explores the death of a combat veteran in southern Virginia, tracing the effects of the loss on his family … Read more
