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The Pitch: Landing a “definitive narrative” in The Atavist Magazine

Editor Seyward Darby: "I definitely want people who are willing to strip a story down to its basics and figure out how to build it back up."

By Carly Stern • August 18, 2022

Four years of reporting follows new threads in a previously reported crime story

Katia Savchuk spent a year pre-reporting before she pitched The Atavist on a nuanced story of crime and mental illness

By Carly Stern • August 17, 2022

From the Editor

J-school everywhere, everyday

A new school year comes with potential, but the lessons needed for great story work are all around us

By Jacqui Banaszynski • August 16, 2022

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Shaping a historic narrative: The Jan. 6 hearings as story craft

By Jacqui Banaszynski

July 21, 2022

The public hearings of the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol draw on core narrative elements

Narrative News

The Mayborn is back! In person and online

By Jacqui Banaszynski

July 20, 2022

Save the dates, register and enter your work: One of America's premier narrative journalism conferences is returning at a new venue

From the Editor

Francis X. Clines: The consummate newspaper journalist

By Jacqui Banaszynski

July 19, 2022

From covering New York characters to the Cold War to The Troubles in Ireland, Clines was a master of credibility and elegance

Story Craft

Raise your glasses to four lessons all writers can learn by judging craft beer

By Charles Scudder

July 15, 2022

A newsman applies core journalistic skills as he brews, sips and rates homebrew

Narrative News

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

By Roy Peter Clark

July 14, 2022

Writing coach and scholar Roy Peter Clark offers memories and wisdom gleaned from the career and clips of a consummate newsman and storyteller

Personal Essays

So you want to write a book? Brace yourself for some serious self-promotion and, yes, TikTok

By Lauren Kessler

July 13, 2022

First published in the wine-and-dine era, Lauren Kessler now manages a blog, Instagram account, YouTube videos and more to help market her books

From the Editor

When your saved story becomes one more overstuffed space

By Jacqui Banaszynski

July 12, 2022

The editor reflects on why her tidy life ends at her digital storage files

Strictly Q&A

A meteorologist attracts an audience with casual writing and controversial views

By Stuart Tomlinson

July 8, 2022

'Celebrity" weather scientist Cliff Mass of the University of Washington has drawn fans and detractors with his blog, book and podcast

Story Craft

So you want to write a book? The risks and rewards of memoir

By Mallary Tenore Tarpley

July 6, 2022

A learning-teaching journalist shares lessons learned as she revisited the realities of her mother's death and her own eating disorder

From the Editor

Struggling to explain American democracy to a visitor

By Jacqui Banaszynski

July 5, 2022

A conversation with a Sri Lankan journalist about news in the U.S. is a reminder to push past assumed narratives

Story Craft

A podcast focused on diversity practices what it preaches

By Kristen Chin

July 1, 2022

"Immigrantly" podcast creator and host works with a team of writers who will challenge her — and she them — as they prepare questions for guests

One Great Moment

“… the Jenga tower simply will not collapse.”

By Trevor Pyle

June 30, 2022

From the dissenting opinion to the U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding Dobbs v. Jackson