Short Takes

Reading (Stephen King) to learn to write

A "starter's guide" to the king of terror, from the New York Times, is a reminder of that learning comes through many forms

By Jacqui Banaszynski • June 3, 2020

Stephen King

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Strictly Q&A

A day-in-the-life profile of a grocery store during the coronavirus shutdown

A Los Angeles Times story from inside a grocery store reveals the power of detail, dialog and a tight narrative frame

By Trevor Pyle • June 2, 2020

One Great Moment

“… the only true medicine I could provide.”

Dr. Jesse Charles, from his time volunteering at Brooklyn Hospital Center during coronavirus

By Jacqui Banaszynski • May 29, 2020

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Chip Scanlan

Diana K. Sugg

Roy Peter Clark

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From the Editor

Reverse engineering your story or project

By Jacqui Banaszynski
May 26, 2020

Sometimes the best way to go forward is to think backwards

One Great Moment

“When we came back to Paris it was clear and cold and lovely.”

By Roy Peter Clark
May 20, 2020

Ernest Hemingway in "A Moveable Feast"

Personal Essays

A displaced writer picks up a camera — and falls back in love with learning

By Roy Wenzl
May 19, 2020

After losing his job and his passion, a reporter rediscovers a new creative obsession that leads him back to the old

Personal Essays

Journalism lives at the check-out counter

By Hilary Niles
May 15, 2020

When the door closes on a dream journalism job, an enterprising reporter uses her interviewing skills to engage with customers at the drug-store

One Great Moment

“Execution is as important as vision.”

By Jacqui Banaszynki
May 13, 2020

U.S. Senator Angus King of Maine

Narrative News

A poet’s distanced farewell to his students is an anthem for the times

By Gerald P. Costanzo
May 12, 2020

"... remember this: life is a mystery to be lived; not a problem to be solved."

Narrative News

The path to excellence: Hard thinking, constant worry and “lunch-pail labor”

By Walt Harrington
May 7, 2020

An award-winning journalist honors the teacher who helped shape him: Ed Lambeth, 1932-2020

Strictly Q&A

Triple profile: A mountain town, a beloved newspaper, and an unlikely hero

By Chip Scanlan
May 6, 2020

A veteran foreign correspondent finds a hero tale in a tiny California town: "A story is a story no matter where it takes place."

Strictly Q&A

A “nut case” buys a mountain town newspaper to save it

By Jacqui Banaszynki
May 6, 2020

Four months after acting on impulse, what has a non-journalist local hero learned about the romance and reality of journalism?

Narrative News

Congratulations to the 2020 Pulitzer Prize winners

By Jacqui Banaszynski
May 4, 2020

Each year, the bar on aspirational journalism is pushed higher, evident in daily dedication to the mission of public service

One Great Moment

“How was it I had let all wonder, all curiosity, seep from me?”

By Jacqui Banaszynski
May 1, 2020

Esi Edugyan, from her novel "Washington Black"

Narrative News

Where writers write when they can’t write where they like to write

By Matt Tullis
April 29, 2020

The pandemic-related shutdown of habitual writing refuges and routines have left writers cobbling new options

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