Author

A new way into an old story: Adam Hochschild on "To End All Wars"

A new way into an old story: Adam Hochschild on "To End All Wars"

Adam Hochschild, a longtime supporter of the Nieman Foundation’s narrative program, published a new book last month, “To End All Wars.” A former editor of Mother Jones magazine, Hochschild lives…
July 1, 2011

Words about pictures: Errol Morris’ digital script

In our latest Notable Narrative, “Did My Brother Invent E-Mail with Tom Van Vleck?,” Errol Morris rejects many of the standard rules of narrative writing.Best known for his films “The…
June 29, 2011
"Why's this so good?" No. 1: Truman Capote keeps time with Marlon Brando

“Why’s this so good?” No. 1: Truman Capote keeps time with Marlon Brando

Truman Capote’s profile of the depressive, incoherent, brilliant Marlon Brando is one of the greatest of all time. Published in 1957 in The New Yorker, it nominally takes place one…
June 27, 2011

"Why's this so good?" – a collaboration on the magic of long-form stories

We’re excited to announce a new feature that we’ll be rolling out next week on Nieman Storyboard. “Why’s This So Good?” will explore what makes classic narrative nonfiction stories worth…
June 24, 2011

What we’re reading: baseball, life at Disney World, and strange summer stories

A man with advanced ALS heads out for a fishing trip with his wife. A reporter goes to Walt Disney World with his children and a reefer-addicted friend.  A Korean-American…
June 23, 2011
Jerry Brewer on change-up pitches, round characters and how to ruin a perfectly good column

Jerry Brewer on change-up pitches, round characters and how to ruin a perfectly good column

In our last post, the Editors’ Roundtable looked at a Seattle Times column about a record-setting Girl Scout cookie-seller who got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Seattle…
June 16, 2011
June Editors' Roundtable No. 2: The Seattle Times, a first pitch, and the Queen of Samoas

June Editors’ Roundtable No. 2: The Seattle Times, a first pitch, and the Queen of Samoas

We're fine-tuning our Editors’ Roundtable, moving toward more frequent postings and smaller groups of editors looking at each story. As part of those changes, today we highlight our second June…
June 15, 2011

Slow violence and environmental storytelling

Strategies to plot and give shape to formless threats whose fatal repercussions are dispersed across space and time
June 13, 2011

Afghanistan stories: Foreign Policy tells a bleak "Groom’s Tale"

Our latest Notable Narrative, “A Groom’s Tale,” introduces us to Ozyr Khul, who is about to get married in Oqa, Afghanistan. Anna Badkhen, who wrote the story for Foreign Policy, has…
June 9, 2011

Stephanie McCrummen on bare-bones writing, "working backwards" and editors' good ideas

Yesterday, our Editors’ Roundtable dissected “Ala. tornado twists two families together” by Stephanie McCrummen, which follows the development of an unlikely connection in the aftermath of a tornado. Late last…
June 7, 2011