Articles

What we’re watching: picturing mercy, breaking down remixes, and garage fighting with keyboards (really)

You bulked up your movie-watching to prepare for the Oscars, and now they’re over. What next? If you’re pining for some new things to see, we’ve got some options for…
February 28, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Jeanne Marie Laskas on voice, point of view and accountability to her subjects: "this is the human story of a guy suffering"

Jeanne Marie Laskas on voice, point of view and accountability to her subjects: "this is the human story of a guy suffering"

In our latest Notable Narrative, “The People V. Football,” GQ correspondent Jeanne Marie Laskas looks at a former football player who has already lost much of his life and is…
February 25, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

The People V. Football: the case for the prosecution

In our latest Notable Narrative, “The People V. Football,” Jeanne Marie Laskas follows former NFL linebacker Fred McNeill into the abyss of his ruined life. Touching intermittently on the larger…
February 24, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Awards season begins: narrative highlights from ASNE and Polk awards; announcement of CRMA finalists

Awards season begins: narrative highlights from ASNE and Polk awards; announcement of CRMA finalists

Looking for some quality narrative journalism you might not have noticed before? As awards season for newspapers and magazines gets underway, we wanted to share links to stories recognized for…
February 23, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Lawrence Wright on Scientology, legal pads and creating a "universe of possible sources"

Lawrence Wright on Scientology, legal pads and creating a "universe of possible sources"

The New Yorker put the “long” in long-form this week with “The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology,” a piece by Lawrence Wright that weighs in at around…
February 18, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Death, truth and memoir: the debate over Joyce Carol Oates' "A Widow's Story"

Death, truth and memoir: the debate over Joyce Carol Oates’ "A Widow’s Story"

What is it that we really want from memoir? The kerfuffle this week over “A Widow’s Story,” a narrative from Joyce Carol Oates about the loss of her husband and…
February 17, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

What we’re reading: the long arc of reporting on Scientology, a different kind of drug war, and a new narrative collaboration

The long-form buzz this last week has been all about Lawrence Wright’s piece on Scientology for the New Yorker, “The Apostate.” It’s ostensibly a profile, but it’s also investigative journalism and…
February 15, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

Political footnote or comeback kid? Robert Sanchez goes for a ride with Tom Tancredo

In “Down But Not Out,” our latest Notable Narrative, writer Robert Sanchez checks in with Tom Tancredo, who was a candidate for governor of Colorado just a few short months…
February 11, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

Evan Ratliff on The Atavist: narrative throwback or the future of nonfiction storytelling?

We talked by phone this week with Evan Ratliff, one of the founders of The Atavist, a just-minted publishing house that makes original narrative nonfiction available on digital mobile reading…
February 9, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

What we’re watching: two takes on documentary

Lately, we’ve been pondering the full range of documentary projects. From a storytelling standpoint, “Hell and Back Again” represents one end of the spectrum. The film, which won the documentary…
February 8, 2011
Andrea Pitzer