We spoke this week with Rebecca Skloot, author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” A longtime science writer with a commitment to narrative, Skloot has written for The New York Times Magazine; O, The Oprah Magazine; and … Read more
Today we offer the latest fare from two long-form masters, as well as an oddball assortment of not-quite-narratives that still get to the heart of a story. CLASSIC NARRATIVES See how Chris Jones and David Grann both build a … Read more
[One in an occasional series of talks with people highlighting long-form journalism online. Prior posts in this series include a look at Gangrey.com.] From “a really little town” in Berkshire County, England, Richard Dunlop-Walters hopes to give you … Read more
David Small has made a career illustrating books for children. So it was no surprise that he should be the featured speaker on the last day of Harvard’s popular class, “History, Philosophy and Literature of Childhood,” taught by … Read more
After years spent thinking he would become a novelist, David Grann turned to nonfiction, realizing that if he found intriguing characters and situations in real life, he “simply had to excavate them and tell them in a compelling way.” He has … Read more
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Chimamanda Adichie’s TED talk, in which she described how stereotypes develop when one community has only a single narrative about another. The post also referenced National Geographic writer Tom O’Neill, who sometimes … Read more
When The Roanoke Times “Age of Uncertainty” won Documentary Project of the Year from Pictures of the Year International, it wasn’t the narrative writing or the photography or the Web design they wanted our insights on. They asked us to … Read more
For a primer on different approaches to storytelling, take a look at two recent narratives on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In GQ, Jeanne Marie Laskas’ “Game Brain” follows a pathologist who discovers CTE through an autopsy on a … Read more
Our second notable narrative for this month, “The Real Work,” delves into the legacy of magic and magicians, moving from its youngest apprentices to its veterans and the debate over its future. The New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik avoids the temptation … Read more
Larissa MacFarquhar’s “The Conciliator” rises above other narratives appearing this primary season, much as its subject later rose to surprise Hillary Clinton, among other seasoned politicos. Amid the breaking-news accounts of state contests and he-said, she-said debates, MacFarquhar’s deeply reported … Read more
