Narrative News

Jeanne Marie Laskas on hidden lives, the search for the perfect protagonist, and the joys of long-form

Jeanne Marie Laskas on hidden lives, the search for the perfect protagonist, and the joys of long-form

Our November Editors’ Roundtable looked at “Hecho en América,” a story by GQ correspondent Jeanne Marie Laskas about migrant blueberry pickers in Maine. Laskas’ work has been featured previously on this…
November 18, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Your brain on narrative: evolution and the story rope

Your brain on narrative: evolution and the story rope

“Our brains are hard-wired for story” is one common argument for why narrative is useful in journalism, in writing, in life. The phrase has always made me uncomfortable, because while…
November 4, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Brady Dennis on “After the sky fell”

Brady Dennis on “After the sky fell”

This week’s “Why’s this so good?” post looked at Brady Dennis’ 296-word story about a toll booth operator’s love for the wife he lost to cancer. The piece ran in…
November 2, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Jack Hart on “Storycraft” and narrative nonfiction as an American literary form

Jack Hart on “Storycraft” and narrative nonfiction as an American literary form

A soup-to-nuts look at narrative nonfiction, Jack Hart’s “Storycraft” breaks down different approaches to telling true stories and the components that make or break them. In writing the book, Hart…
October 20, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Gene Weingarten on “the god of journalism,” compulsive editing and “The Peekaboo Paradox”

Gene Weingarten on “the god of journalism,” compulsive editing and “The Peekaboo Paradox”

After some months spent planning to write about Gene Weingarten's story “The Peekaboo Paradox” for this site, I caught up with the two-time Pulitzer winner in Texas this summer at…
September 28, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Gene Weingarten on journalistic ethics: two case studies from his career

Gene Weingarten on journalistic ethics: two case studies from his career

The final session of last month's Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference offered The Washington Post’s Gene Weingarten in conversation with Brian Sweany, deputy editor of Texas Monthly. Weingarten, who does a…
August 11, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Tidbits from this year's Mayborn Conference: how deep is too deep?

Tidbits from this year's Mayborn Conference: how deep is too deep?

Hanging out at orgies with people who smuggle lizards in their pants. Befriending a convict with an Anne Frank tattoo. Doing drugs with a source. You never know what you’ll…
July 25, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

The implications of plot lines in illness and memoir

Narrative therapy uses a client’s life story to shine a spotlight on how he understands his experience. The concept of an “illness narrative” emerged not in a literary context but over…
July 11, 2011
Victoria Costello
Lane DeGregory on diving into Florida dreams

Lane DeGregory on diving into Florida dreams

Our first Editors’ Roundtable of the month looked at “Diving Headlong into a Sunny Paradise,” by Lane DeGregory of the St. Petersburg Times, in which a young couple arrives in Florida…
July 6, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
A new way into an old story: Adam Hochschild on "To End All Wars"

A new way into an old story: Adam Hochschild on "To End All Wars"

Adam Hochschild, a longtime supporter of the Nieman Foundation’s narrative program, published a new book last month, “To End All Wars.” A former editor of Mother Jones magazine, Hochschild lives…
July 1, 2011
Andrea Pitzer