Nell Lake

Nazario’s reporting for this series was remarkable. She followed Enrique for part of his journey—from the U.S.-Mexican border to North Carolina—and reconstructed the rest. As part of her research into…

This is a real story, structurally speaking: The main character’s problem is clear from the outset, and we are engaged by the central question of whether he will succeed. Secondary…

Mark Kramer cautions his students against writing “How I Got the Story” stories. A particularly amateurish version of such a story might begin: “I felt nervous as I walked into…

The amused view on this piece’s topic makes it an entertaining read—while taking inventory of the consequences of high urban rents. It also acknowledges that not all crises are washed…

Lake does a nice job portraying this fallen soldier’s life in authentic terms. He shows some change in the young man’s character before he dies, which makes the piece more…

This series rather exhaustively looks back over nearly 20 years of history surrounding the prosecution and incarceration of Darryl Hunt, a black man accused of raping and murdering a white…

This piece is beautifully, closely reported: We admired the scene, for example, in which baby Nick’s heart rate calms as his father caresses and talks to him. This is wonderful,…

This is deadline narrative, written in a refreshing, just-right, lighthearted tone. The tone is supported by the structure: Perry sets up a question, writes up close to the punch line,…

Moehringer writes about a man who, many feel, has been wronged. We like the opening paragraphs of the piece, in which Moehringer is crafty with us readers, leading us in…

This is a story about a high school girl, Michelle Dowdy, who auditioned for "Hairspray" on a whim and got a part as the understudy to the lead. When DeGregory’s…