Author

"How'd you find that secret-compartments story, Brendan Koerner?"

"How’d you find that secret-compartments story, Brendan Koerner?"

Brendan Koerner’s recent Wired piece about Alfred Anaya, a “genius at installing secret compartments in cars,” was nothing short of delicious as a piece of storytelling and discovery. Sure, someone’s out…
April 5, 2013
7 great reads: this year's ASME finalists in feature/profile writing

7 great reads: this year’s ASME finalists in feature/profile writing

Awards season continues with the announcement of the American Society of Magazine Editors’ finalists for the National Magazine Award. The organization this week honored 62 publications in 23 categories, with winners…
April 4, 2013
Annotation Tuesday! Pamela Colloff and the innocent man, Part 2

Annotation Tuesday! Pamela Colloff and the innocent man, Part 2

Pamela Colloff's annotated “The Innocent Man” continues today, with the second and final part. (To read Part 1, go here.) The timing couldn't be better. On Monday, the American Society of Magazine…
April 2, 2013

Inside “Snow Fall,” the New York Times multimedia storytelling sensation

“Snow Fall,” the widely celebrated New York Times multimedia narrative on a deadly avalanche in Washington State, won a Peabody this week (and would later win the Pulitzer) for being “a spectacular example of…
March 29, 2013

Just one question … for Michael Graff, on the death of Earl Badu

Big buzz earlier this month when Michael Graff‘s story on the suicide of former University of Maryland basketball walk-on Earl Badu hit SB Nation‘s longform wing: You know the wish can’t come true, but people…
March 28, 2013

"Why’s this so good?" No. 74: Charlie Pierce and Tiger Woods

I think it’s fair to say that most of America was shocked when news of Tiger Woods’ sex scandal broke in late 2009. I’m also pretty sure that anyone who…
March 26, 2013
Voice, tension, humor, quest and theme: CRMA finalists, Profiles category

Voice, tension, humor, quest and theme: CRMA finalists, Profiles category

In a recent edition of Storyboard’s Annotation Tuesday!, GQ’s Amy Wallace talked about the crossover between narrative and profile writing. “While I get that the two (genres) are distinct, I…
March 22, 2013
Annotation Tuesday! Pamela Colloff and the innocent man, Part 1

Annotation Tuesday! Pamela Colloff and the innocent man, Part 1

In November and December, Texas Monthly's Pamela Colloff wrote a two-part series on the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton, who spent 25 years in prison in the murder of his…
March 19, 2013
CRMA finalists, Part 2: Reporting

CRMA finalists, Part 2: Reporting

In Part 1 of our roundup of finalists in the 2013 City and Regional Magazine Association and Missouri School of Journalism awards, we offered a taste of the stories nominated…
March 15, 2013

"Why’s this so good?" No. 73: Carol Smith and the cipher in Room 214

In all likelihood, “The Cipher in Room 214” began with a fairly empty notebook. Most stories do, but in this case it probably looked like it was going to stay that…
March 12, 2013