Articles

Writing about the unthinkable pain of child suicides

Writing about the unthinkable pain of child suicides

Author, essayist and lecturer Andrew Solomon weaves statistics and personal pain to explores the toll that depression takes on young children
2022 Power of Narrative: The matrix of editor, reporter and story

2022 Power of Narrative: The matrix of editor, reporter and story

How a longtime contributor and a top editor at The New York Times Magazine work together to create award-winning journalism
2022 Power of Narrative: Expert advice on covering drug addiction

2022 Power of Narrative: Expert advice on covering drug addiction

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of five posts from the 2022 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. Read Ellen Barry on first-person narratives, Lizzie Johnson on deadline narratives and Debbie Cenziper…
2022 Power of Narrative: Debbie Cenziper on the reporting-writing partnership

2022 Power of Narrative: Debbie Cenziper on the reporting-writing partnership

Editor’s note: This is one of five posts from the 2022 Power of Narrative conference at Boston University. For other takeaways, see Ellen Barry on first-person narratives and Lizzie Johnson…
Book bans: An assault on knowledge

Book bans: An assault on knowledge

During summers of my childhood, a highlight was the twice-monthly visit by the bookmobile. Our small village had no formal public library at the time — we weren’t blessed with…
2022 Power of Narrative: Lizzie Johnson on questions that shape deadline narratives

2022 Power of Narrative: Lizzie Johnson on questions that shape deadline narratives

As the wildfire reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, Johnson looked beyond events to people and place for award-winning work

2022 Power of Narrative: Ellen Barry on inserting yourself into the story

The New York Times reporter takes on first-person writing in her profile of a mysterious Indian "prince"
Award season 2022: A peek behind the scenes at some narrative winners

Award season 2022: A peek behind the scenes at some narrative winners

It’s that season. Not erratic spring, but the reliable roll-out of journalism awards, aka a free education in the best of this work and how it’s done. You can roll…
Word play: when clarity and creativity merge

Word play: when clarity and creativity merge

One of my engineer brothers often pesters me about the thicket that is the English language. Silent or paired letters that defy logic: psychic, knave, climb. Words that have letters…
What a modern reading of "The Canterbury Tales" can teach us

What a modern reading of “The Canterbury Tales” can teach us

A journalist's mother tuned her, and then her daughter, into the sound of written language by reading Chaucer aloud in Middle English