Narrative News

Richard Morgan on payback, freelancing and the myth of the "made man"

Richard Morgan recently found a new measure of fame writing about writing, with his funny/terrifying piece “Seven Years as a Freelance Writer, or, How to Make Vitamin Soup.” Though Morgan’s…
August 12, 2010
Andrea Pitzer

Vanity Fair’s Bryan Burrough on writing narrative: “people are dying to put down your article”

In what might be the only performance of Texas stand-up comedy about narrative writing, Vanity Fair writer Bryan Burrough recently offered practical tips for long-form storytelling to a Mayborn Conference…
August 6, 2010
Andrea Pitzer
Mark Bowden on discovering narrative and the value of beginner's mind: "only if you are truly ignorant can you ask the truly ignorant question"

Mark Bowden on discovering narrative and the value of beginner’s mind: "only if you are truly ignorant can you ask the truly ignorant question"

Next up in our series of highlights from last weekend's Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference is Mark Bowden. Author of "Black Hawk Down" and a former reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer,…
July 30, 2010
Andrea Pitzer
Mary Karr on truth: "the least of my problems as a memoirist, as a writer, is getting my facts right"

Mary Karr on truth: "the least of my problems as a memoirist, as a writer, is getting my facts right"

Author Mary Karr showed up Friday in Grapevine, Texas, in the middle of a thunderstorm to talk about telling the truth. The first keynote speaker at the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction…
July 28, 2010
Andrea Pitzer
Meanwhile back at the ranch: The Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference and a trip to Larry McMurtry’s private library

Meanwhile back at the ranch: The Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference and a trip to Larry McMurtry’s private library

Heading northwest out of Dallas before morning rush hour, glass and concrete slip away to nothing but shrubs, scattered trees and long, low rises that are not so much hills…
July 26, 2010
Andrea Pitzer
Joe Donnelly on Slake, long-form journalism and launching a vision: "it’s about finding the right rhythm and the right way of presenting it"

Joe Donnelly on Slake, long-form journalism and launching a vision: "it’s about finding the right rhythm and the right way of presenting it"

Last month, we heard rumors from the West Coast of a new magazine devoted to long-form storytelling – a magazine that existed in print only and had no digital presence.…
July 21, 2010
Andrea Pitzer
Rebecca Skloot on narrating history: "looking for that one family, that one person, that one moment that will help hold everything together"

Rebecca Skloot on narrating history: "looking for that one family, that one person, that one moment that will help hold everything together"

We spoke this week with Rebecca Skloot, author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” A longtime science writer with a commitment to narrative, Skloot has written for The New…
July 16, 2010
Andrea Pitzer
Death comes for comics storyteller Harvey Pekar (October 8, 1939 - July 12, 2010)

Death comes for comics storyteller Harvey Pekar (October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010)

Comic book writer and misfit Harvey Pekar spent his life bracing for the worst, and now, finally, he can relax.Pekar was a non-fiction storyteller who recorded his daily existence for…
July 13, 2010
Ernesto Priego

Short attention span theater: narrative and models of interaction

[This post is the second in a series from new media artist Peggy Nelson considering the impact of technology on narrative. Nelson's work includes a barcode narrative, a PowerPoint essay,…
July 9, 2010
Peggy Nelson
Katy Butler on Greek tragedy, reader comments and how "scenes keep you close to the bone truth of things"

Katy Butler on Greek tragedy, reader comments and how "scenes keep you close to the bone truth of things"

We recently spoke with Katy Butler about her New York Times Magazine piece, “What Broke My Father’s Heart,” our latest Notable Narrative. Butler, whose work has appeared in magazines such as…
July 6, 2010
Andrea Pitzer