If only we could start an international narrative-journalism conference crawl — sort of like a pub crawl, but with pencils and notebooks — here’s how we’d map out the year:
“Power of Narrative: Staying Savvy, Skilled and Solvent
in Journalism’s Wired Era”
April 4-6
Boston University
Boston
Early-bird registration opened last week. This year’s speakers include the Washington Post’s David Finkel, author of Thank You For Your Service; Nell Lake, the founding editor of Nieman Narrative Digest (now Storyboard), and of the forthcoming nonfiction book The Caregivers: A Support Group’s Stories of Slow Loss, Courage, and Love; David Blum, editor of Kindle Singles; New York Times columnist Dan Barry; and author Adam Hochschild. Admission ranges from $45 (BU student) to $275 (general admission) through Feb. 14, after which time the price jumps to $350 (for those registering before March 14) and $375 (March 15 to April 1).
“Literary Journalism: Local, Regional, National, Global”
The Ninth International Conference for Literary Journalism Studies
May 15-17
The American University of Paris
Paris
This conference was founded in 2006, by the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies, whose mission is to explore “the improvement of scholarly research and education in Literary Journalism/Reportage — not journalism about literature but journalism that is literature.” If you happen to find yourself in Paris (or looking for a reason to go), registration fees range from $30 to $170. You can find information about past conferences here. This year’s presenters include Storyboard contributor Josh Roiland, who teaches literary journalism at Notre Dame.
Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference
Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism
University of North Texas
July 18-20
Grapevine, Texas
Early-bird registration is now open: General admission runs $374; if you’re a teacher, you pay $354; if a student, $324. After May 1, the cost jumps to $425. Registration closes June 1. The full list of speakers hasn’t launched yet, but three keynote speakers have confirmed: David Quammen, science writer, author and three-time winner of the National Magazine Award; The New Yorker’s Lawrence Wright, the Pulitzer- and National Magazine Award-winning author of The Looming Tower and, most recently, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief; and Sheri Fink, a Pulitzer and National Magazine Award winner and author of the critically acclaimed Five Days at Memorial, which we’ll be featuring here soon on Storyboard soon, with a Q-and-A with Fink. Have a look at some of our past coverage here.
“Power of Storytelling”
Sponsored by the magazine Decât o Revista
October 2014 (dates TBA)
Bucharest, Romania
Now in its fourth year, this conference increasingly draws participants from across Europe, and features some of the top nonfiction storytellers from North America. They’ve included Esquire’s Mike Sager, Chris Jones and Tom Junod; Pulitzer winner Jacqui Banaszynski, now a professor at the Missouri School of Journalism; RadioLab’s Pat Walters; NPR’s Starlee Kine; and many more. Working with conference leader, Decât o Revista editor — and current Nieman Fellow — Cristian Lupsa, Storyboard covers the conference with transcripts and video. So if you can’t make it to Bucharest, check back here.
“Power of Narrative: Staying Savvy, Skilled and Solvent
in Journalism’s Wired Era”
April 4-6
Boston University
Boston
Early-bird registration opened last week. This year’s speakers include the Washington Post’s David Finkel, author of Thank You For Your Service; Nell Lake, the founding editor of Nieman Narrative Digest (now Storyboard), and of the forthcoming nonfiction book The Caregivers: A Support Group’s Stories of Slow Loss, Courage, and Love; David Blum, editor of Kindle Singles; New York Times columnist Dan Barry; and author Adam Hochschild. Admission ranges from $45 (BU student) to $275 (general admission) through Feb. 14, after which time the price jumps to $350 (for those registering before March 14) and $375 (March 15 to April 1).
“Literary Journalism: Local, Regional, National, Global”
The Ninth International Conference for Literary Journalism Studies
May 15-17
The American University of Paris
Paris
This conference was founded in 2006, by the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies, whose mission is to explore “the improvement of scholarly research and education in Literary Journalism/Reportage — not journalism about literature but journalism that is literature.” If you happen to find yourself in Paris (or looking for a reason to go), registration fees range from $30 to $170. You can find information about past conferences here. This year’s presenters include Storyboard contributor Josh Roiland, who teaches literary journalism at Notre Dame.Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference
Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism
University of North Texas
July 18-20
Grapevine, Texas
Early-bird registration is now open: General admission runs $374; if you’re a teacher, you pay $354; if a student, $324. After May 1, the cost jumps to $425. Registration closes June 1. The full list of speakers hasn’t launched yet, but three keynote speakers have confirmed: David Quammen, science writer, author and three-time winner of the National Magazine Award; The New Yorker’s Lawrence Wright, the Pulitzer- and National Magazine Award-winning author of The Looming Tower and, most recently, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief; and Sheri Fink, a Pulitzer and National Magazine Award winner and author of the critically acclaimed Five Days at Memorial, which we’ll be featuring here soon on Storyboard soon, with a Q-and-A with Fink. Have a look at some of our past coverage here.“Power of Storytelling”
Sponsored by the magazine Decât o Revista
October 2014 (dates TBA)
Bucharest, Romania
Now in its fourth year, this conference increasingly draws participants from across Europe, and features some of the top nonfiction storytellers from North America. They’ve included Esquire’s Mike Sager, Chris Jones and Tom Junod; Pulitzer winner Jacqui Banaszynski, now a professor at the Missouri School of Journalism; RadioLab’s Pat Walters; NPR’s Starlee Kine; and many more. Working with conference leader, Decât o Revista editor — and current Nieman Fellow — Cristian Lupsa, Storyboard covers the conference with transcripts and video. So if you can’t make it to Bucharest, check back here.
