Narrative News

WriterL, the book: A "greatest hits" collection of narrative discussions

WriterL, the book: A “greatest hits” collection of narrative discussions

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of two essays about the new book “A Place Called Writer L,” a collection of listserv discussions from the 1990s and 2000s. Tomorrow, co-editor Stuart…
The Mayborn is back! In person and online

The Mayborn is back! In person and online

A Storyboard standard was tracking and reporting on as many of the top annual journal conferences we could, from association events — like the Society of Environmental Journalists, Investigative Reporters…
A tribute to the consummate reporter/writer: Francis X. Clines

A tribute to the consummate reporter/writer: Francis X. Clines

EDITOR’S NOTE: This tribute is shared with permission from our friends at The Poynter Institute.Frank Clines arrived at The New York Times in 1958, one year before the death of…
A "story-keeping" project helps people heal

A “story-keeping” project helps people heal

In 2001, hospice nurse Dottie Kluttz started practicing “story medicine.” She’d sit with patients nearing the end of their lives, turn on an audio recorder and ask them questions about…
Award season 2022 continued: The Pulitzer Prizes

Award season 2022 continued: The Pulitzer Prizes

Stand-out journalism produced last year was honored in the release of the 2022 Pulitzer Prizes, celebrating the best of the craft and affirming the importance of serious, creative journalism in…
Award season 2022: A peek behind the scenes at some narrative winners

Award season 2022: A peek behind the scenes at some narrative winners

It’s that season. Not erratic spring, but the reliable roll-out of journalism awards, aka a free education in the best of this work and how it’s done. You can roll…
Kari Howard: An editor and mentor who loved good stories and storytellers

Kari Howard: An editor and mentor who loved good stories and storytellers

“I’d told a few friends but asked them to keep it under their hats,” Kari emailed me in the spring of 2016. She had just been appointed editor of Nieman…
The wisdom of babes, the sounds of music, and tasty stories to chew on

The wisdom of babes, the sounds of music, and tasty stories to chew on

It would have been easy but discouraging to spend an entire year of Storyboard featuring stories about homelessness, climate woes and, of course, COVID-19. It would be tempting to identify…
The peak posts of 2021: Hemingway, sensitive sourcing and self-editing

The peak posts of 2021: Hemingway, sensitive sourcing and self-editing

Another year, another trove of excellent journalism — so much that I’ve given up on keeping up. I take some comfort in that as our profession continues to struggle with…
Tempted to self-publish that book? Here are some things to know

Tempted to self-publish that book? Here are some things to know

Many — maybe most — journalists aspire to write a book. Back in the day, more than a few of them had a work-in-progress hidden in the bottom drawer of…