Author

Ben Yagoda

@byagoda

Ben Yagoda’s books include “About Town: ’The New Yorker’ and the World It Made;” “How to Not Write Bad;” and “The Art of Fact: A Historical Anthology of Literary Journalism,” which he coedited with Kevin Kerrane. Among his current projects is the blog moviesinothermovies.com. He taught journalism at the University of Delaware for twenty-five years.

Early influencers in a writing life

Early influencers in a writing life

Journalist, nonfiction author and teacher Ben Yagoda returns to some of the passages that inspired his career and helped shape his voice
May 17, 2024
Foreshadow forward; echo back. How writers harness the power of the callback

Foreshadow forward; echo back. How writers harness the power of the callback

In his “New in Town” standup comedy special, John Mulaney tells how, when he was 10, he was in love with his babysitter, who he thought was much older. But as…
May 2, 2019
The sense of an ending

The sense of an ending

Whether you spell them “ledes” or “leads,” opening lines get a lot of attention. And why wouldn’t they? Sitting at the keyboard, with all the tedious and sometimes annoying reporting…
June 23, 2014

"Why’s this so good?" No. 47: Calvin Trillin and classic Edna Buchanan

Where is Edna Buchanan when we need her? Admittedly, the lede on this recent Associated Press story wasn’t half bad:MIAMI — A witness says a naked man chewing on the face of…
June 19, 2012
Memoir's truthy obligations: a handy how-to guide

Memoir's truthy obligations: a handy how-to guide

How true does a memoir have to be? That question has been the basis of an ongoing debate kicked off by the revelation, five years ago, that much of James…
July 28, 2011