Author

Paige Williams

@williams_paige

Paige Williams writes for The New Yorker and is an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism. Winner of the National Magazine Award for feature writing in 2008, and a finalist in 2011 and 2009 (shared) , she has been anthologized in five volumes of the Best American series, including twice in The Best American Magazine Writing. She is the former editor of Nieman Storyboard and has taught narrative nonfiction at Harvard, M.I.T., NYU, Emory, the University of Pittsburgh, and at her alma mater, the University of Mississippi. She was a '97 Nieman Fellow and holds an MFA in fiction from Columbia University. Her narrative nonfiction book "The Dinosaur Artist" is forthcoming, from Hachette, in Fall 2016.

Hurricane Sandy: story forms

Hurricane Sandy: story forms

The Hurricane Sandy storylines are still unfolding, but one thing became clear on Monday as winds and water overtook New York City and New Jersey in historic proportions: Digital media deepened…
"The Power of Storytelling," Part 2: Jacqui Banaszynski on the future of stories and Evan Ratliff on digital entrepreneurship

"The Power of Storytelling," Part 2: Jacqui Banaszynski on the future of stories and Evan Ratliff on digital entrepreneurship

The day I left Bucharest, the International Herald-Tribune ran a front-page story about the shambles that is Romania. After three visits there in three years, I can tell you that…
"The Power of Storytelling," Part 1: A bunch of American storytellers go to Romania...

"The Power of Storytelling," Part 1: A bunch of American storytellers go to Romania…

Early this month, an all-star pack of North American storytellers flew halfway around the world, to Romania, to talk about narrative journalism. They took the stage before a sold-out audience and…
Tori Marlan and Josh Neufeld on the webcomics narrative 'Stowaway'

Tori Marlan and Josh Neufeld on the webcomics narrative ‘Stowaway’

Our latest Notable Narrative is “Stowaway,” an interactive comic, published by The Atavist, that tells the story of a young Ethiopian boy, "Fanuel," who made his way to the United…

Notable narrative: ‘Stowaway’

Our new Notable Narrative is a piece of comics journalism by investigative reporter Tori Marlan and cartoonist Josh Neufeld. “Stowaway,” an interactive e-narrative published by The Atavist, is the story…
Junot Díaz on imagination, language, success, the role of the teacher, the health of American literature and Star Wars as a narrative teaching tool

Junot Díaz on imagination, language, success, the role of the teacher, the health of American literature and Star Wars as a narrative teaching tool

To hear the novelist Junot Díaz talk about writing is to have your mind augured open to new ways of processing the human experience and to feel swept up in…
What we're reading: one-eyed bullfighters, Boo, drug wars, breasts, death in the Yukon and swimming-pool salesmen

What we’re reading: one-eyed bullfighters, Boo, drug wars, breasts, death in the Yukon and swimming-pool salesmen

There’s a lot of great work out there right now, people! Here are some of the stories and storytellers who’ve caught our attention lately — and why. Highlights: a Mexican cemetery…
David Finkel on winning the MacArthur "genius" grant

David Finkel on winning the MacArthur "genius" grant

David FinkelDavid Finkel of The Washington Post won a MacArthur “genius” grant this week for his body of long-form narrative journalism, particularly his coverage of the war in Iraq. In…
Notable narrative: "Fear of a Black President," by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Notable narrative: "Fear of a Black President," by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Guest-curating our latest Notable Narrative is Tom Levenson, professor of science writing at MIT and the author of four books, most recently Newton and the Counterfeiter. He chose Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Fear…

Building blocks: Scene, detail, character

From the Storyboard archives: tips on three of the fundamentals of narrative, from a trio of accomplished writers and editors. Click through to their full essays, and in the meantime…