Notable Narratives

About a bear: The story behind the story of “The Loneliest Polar Bear”

How The Oregonian tracked the uncertain fate of an abandoned bear cub and created a multi-media phenomenon that informed other projects

By Julia Shipley • April 19, 2019

The sentences that make the stories

Two books honored by the 2019 Pulitzer Prizes; two simple sentences from those books; lessons in journalism inspired by those sentences

By Jacqui Banaszynski • April 18, 2019

Narrative News

Insight from the other side of the notebook

In the wake of unspeakable grief, parents from the 2012 Sandy Hook school shootings kept lists of journalists they would, and wouldn't, talk to

By Matt Tullis • April 16, 2019

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Why's This So Good?

Avoiding false judgments in journalism about Trump’s evangelical supporters

By Brook Wilensky-Lanford

April 11, 2019

A religion scholar assesses how the Washington Post's Stephanie McCrummen avoids predictable pitfalls in "Judgment Days"

Digital Storytelling

“74 seconds” that led to a man’s death, a cop’s trial and a 22-episode podcast

By M.F. Sánchez

April 10, 2019

2019 Power of Narrative: How a Minnesota Public Radio team turned a real-time rolling news into a compelling serial drama

Narrative News

“Losing Earth:” Nathaniel Rich’s epic on the failure to confront climate change

By Jacqui Banaszynski

April 9, 2019

A new book, a "Fresh Air" interview, and a reprise of a deep-dive conversation

Story Craft

Hitting home runs with story pitches

By Jacqui Banaszynski

April 5, 2019

Agents and editors at the 2019 Power of Narrative conference lob feedback and advice in a live pitch session

Story Craft

Probing dark corners and dark souls

By Julia Shipley

April 5, 2019

The risks and rewards of covering society's monsters: Insights from the 2019 Power of Narrative conference

Story Craft

Ripping up the narrative arc and fumbling your way to structure

By Monique Brouillette

April 3, 2019

2019 Power of Narrative: Dave Cullen on how he wove time and perspectives to tell a fuller story of the Columbine High School shootings

Narrative News

High notes from the keynotes

By Caren Chesler, Jill U. Adams and Madeline Bodin

March 29, 2019

Quick hits from featured speakers at the 2019 Power of Narrative Conference

Story Craft

Golden nuggets from the rich river of narrative nonfiction

By Caren Chesler, Jill U. Adams and Madeline Bodin

March 28, 2019

Big Ideas from small sessions at the 2019 Power of Narrative Conference

5 Questions

Grounding apocalyptic issues in reality without losing hope

By Rebecca Boyle

March 21, 2019

Q&A with Washington Post writer Dan Zak about his daring and emotional query about climate change, and finding some calm in the controversy

One Great Sentence

“She stares at me, but it feels like she’s looking at who I used to be, her little girl with ponytails and a snaggletooth who swore she was a Powerpuff Girl.”

By Jill U. Adams

March 20, 2019

From the young adult novel "The Hate U Give," by Angie Thomas

One Great Sentence

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!'”

By Curt Brown

March 13, 2019

Jack Kerouac from his autobiographical novel "On The Road"

Annotation Tuesday!

Shop Class: Learning to look up, down, sideways, backwards and beyond

By Jacqui Banaszynski and Ted Ringger

March 12, 2019

An amateur photographer's blog provides lessons for all storytellers on where to train your eye