Notable Narratives

Michael Paterniti spins a fairy tale of loss and survival

Our latest Notable Narrative, “The Man Who Sailed His House,” tells the story of Hiromitsu Shinkawa, who was found floating alone on the roof of his home in the days…
October 21, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

Dexter Filkins on the case: murder in Pakistan

Dexter Filkins is hardly the first person to use a crime and its procedural aftermath to tell a story of corruption – such tales have dotted the landscapes of film and…
September 22, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
Eric Moskowitz resurrects the pre-flight hours of 9/11

Eric Moskowitz resurrects the pre-flight hours of 9/11

Our latest Notable Narrative comes from the Boston Globe project “9/11: 10 years on,” a wide-ranging collection of print stories, slide shows and video. Many news organizations have unveiled impressive…
September 9, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

The future of Baby Donuts: Patti Waldmeir on changing (and unchanging) life in modern China

Our latest Notable Narrative, “Little Girl Found,” is the tale of a baby discovered outside a Dunkin’ Donuts in Shanghai, China. Financial Times correspondent Patti Waldmeir, who was with a…
August 26, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

Exhuming a life: Michael Kruse recovers the lost history of Kathryn Norris

What would happen if you disappeared today? What if no one noticed?In our latest Notable Narrative, St. Petersburg Times reporter Michael Kruse collects relics of the life of Kathryn Norris,…
August 12, 2011
Andrea Pitzer
A narrative sketch from George Packer's "Interesting Times"

A narrative sketch from George Packer's "Interesting Times"

In our latest Notable Narrative, “Iraqis Pass the Safety Test,” The New Yorker's George Packer draws an arc through three apparently unrelated points by doing little more than setting up…
July 14, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

Words about pictures: Errol Morris’ digital script

In our latest Notable Narrative, “Did My Brother Invent E-Mail with Tom Van Vleck?,” Errol Morris rejects many of the standard rules of narrative writing.Best known for his films “The…
June 29, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

Afghanistan stories: Foreign Policy tells a bleak "Groom’s Tale"

Our latest Notable Narrative, “A Groom’s Tale,” introduces us to Ozyr Khul, who is about to get married in Oqa, Afghanistan. Anna Badkhen, who wrote the story for Foreign Policy, has…
June 9, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

Esquire goes home with Philip Roth

Our latest Notable Narrative turns cliché upside down to see what will fall out of its pockets. Maybe you can’t go home again, but Esquire’s Scott Raab wants to see…
May 27, 2011
Andrea Pitzer

What’s in a name? Washingtonian renames and resurrects a story

This week's Notable Narrative,"What If Osama Bin Laden Had Been Captured?," recounts the interrogation of Saddam Hussein, taking readers through recent history to a more speculative present. The story, a…
May 13, 2011
Andrea Pitzer