Notable Narratives

A doc film that gently unspools surprises

Filmmaker Eloisa Diez follows a trans man's journey to create a family of his own ~ and confronts her own storytelling stereotypes

By Line Vaaben • March 17, 2023

Alex Reyes de Anda with his partner, Fernanda, after giving birth to his daughter, Victoria

The making of a (born) journalist

Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame may have been hard-wired to be a reporter but he also worked hard at his craft

By Don Nelson • March 17, 2023

From the Editor

Writing without words

A watercolor workshop offers wisdom about the art and lifetime practice of storytelling in any form

By Jacqui Banaszynski • March 14, 2023

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Notable Narratives

A doc film that gently unspools surprises

By Line Vaaben

March 17, 2023

Filmmaker Eloisa Diez follows a trans man's journey to create a family of his own ~ and confronts her own storytelling stereotypes

Notable Narratives

A top Danish journalist reflects society in autopsies, trans surgery and pork roast

By Jacqui Banaszynski

September 23, 2022

Author and narrative reporter Line Vaaben offers gems from her 20-year immersion into the craft of storytelling

Notable Narratives

A viral image, a question of provenance and a consideration of truth

By Jacqui Banaszynski

June 16, 2022

A news photographer helps assess how a "photo illustration" with a point-of-view can convey, rather than undermine, reality

Notable Narratives

A writer’s tribute to Roger Angell: For the love of the reading journey

By Charles P. Pierce

June 3, 2022

"Sports Guy" author and politics blogger Charles P. Pierce with a reflection on legendary sportswriter and baseball fan Roger Angell

Notable Narratives

Stories behind bars: The power and pitfalls of “emotional truths”

By Lauren Kessler

May 13, 2022

Author Lauren Kessler finds echoes of her work in a prisoner profile by Boston Globe reporter Evan Allen that reveals the journalist's role in the story

Notable Narratives

What a modern reading of “The Canterbury Tales” can teach us

By Lisa Grace Lednicer

April 15, 2022

A journalist's mother tuned her, and then her daughter, into the sound of written language by reading Chaucer aloud in Middle English

Notable Narratives

Icy waters, lost treasures, timeless tales and the tricky route to immortality

By Andrea Pitzer

April 6, 2022

A biographer of Arctic explorers writes about the discovery of Shackleton's Endurance and why adventure narratives hold our attention through time

Notable Narratives

The pioneering narrative work of “girl stunt reporters”

By Kim Todd

February 24, 2022

How Nellie Bly and a sisterhood of crusaders foreshadowed today's narrative nonfiction

Notable Narratives

The making of Joan Didion: From fuzzy facts to peerless prose

By Dale Keiger

January 14, 2022

A re-read of Didion's work shows the evolution of excellence that came through years of hard work and self scrutiny

Notable Narratives

The bold Joan Didion story you probably never read

By Steve Weinberg

January 13, 2022

A charter member of IRE carried lessons from Didion's probe of the 1989 Central Park jogger case throughout his career

Notable Narratives

Epic history that inspired epic storytelling

By Tom Warhover

January 4, 2022

A team from The Washington Post re-reported and retold the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol with classic, credible and compelling journalism

Notable Narratives

Editing advice from the world’s best story critic: a child

By Jyoti Madhusoodanan

November 16, 2021

A writer's 4-year-old offers a lesson in the essentials of effective narrative