Notable Narratives

In Hunger, Cold and War, Afghans Only Find Death

Many would say that this piece is not strictly narrative, and we’d agree. But there are plenty of narrative elements in the story, and we believe they’re what make the…

Fighting for Life on Level 3

For this remarkable piece of reporting, Hallman gained first access into the ward, via the administrators, and then, more vitally, access into the “hearts and minds” of the nurses. Hallman…

A Forest Monk’s Lesson in the New York Jungle

A Buddhist monk from Thailand is visiting New York. Someone steals his bag.There’s no punch line, but it’s a nice narrative complication; and out of it Barry crafts a touching,…

A Thousand Words? This Stash is Worth a Trillion

This is a story about an enormous collection of pictures. A man started the collection and marketed it as a service to graphic artists and others who needed visual inspiration.…

Black Hawk Down

We found the level of action detail in this gruesome series remarkable: Bowden traces what happened when—who got shot where, shrieked, said what, shot whom, with what—with striking clarity. We…

Forest Haven Is Gone, But the Agony Remains

This piece uses narrative to turn what could have been a distanced roster of wrongs into a more compelling, close story about individuals’ suffering. Vivid narrative makes good investigative work…

A Father’s Pain, a Judge’s Duty and a Justice Beyond Their Reach

This piece explores a judge’s difficult position in a difficult case. Siegel traces parallel themes in the lives of the judge and defendant: responsibility, redemption, compassion. The piece won the…

Lequan: The Lost Boy

We’re always glad to find effective, solidly written and reported pieces in papers other than the Heavy Hitters. We appreciated the close, thorough reporting in this piece, the lucid attention…

One Good Thing On Top of Another

While covering a cookie-stacking contest, Pollak kept asking herself that ever-important question: What and where is the story? So instead of a cutesy, standard piece about a child winning a…

Life’s Ups and Downs

The scale stands at the entrance to the Publix in Hudson, Fla. It catches the attention of passersby; they weigh themselves and react. Through simple reporting—observing people weigh themselves and…