In Part 3 of our recap of Romania’s “Power of Storytelling” conference on narrative journalism, radio producer Starlee Kine talked about story forms and themes; Esquire‘s Mike Sager talked about listening, and about suspending disbelief; and Pulitzer winner Alex Tizon talked about writing … Read more
It’s been a volatile few months for ethics in storytelling, what with the unprecedented “This American Life” retraction of monologist Mike Daisey’s Apple story, and with the unfurled furor over John D’Agata’s anti-accuracy screed in The … Read more
Our February Roundtable looks at “Law creates barriers to getting care for mentally ill,” by Meg Kissinger. In her narrative, Kissinger touches on violence, mental health and 40 years of debates over patients’ rights. The story of Martha … Read more
There are two stories from the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, that to me remain better than all the others. R.W. Apple wrote a news analysis that ran on the front of the New York Times on Sept. Read more
Our November Roundtable looks at “Hecho en América,” by Jeanne Marie Laskas. Laskas immerses herself in the world of migrant workers picking blueberries in Washington County, Maine, and illuminates the distance between the worlds of those who pick … Read more
Our first October Rountable looks at “Autistic and Seeking a Place in an Adult World,” by Amy Harmon. Harmon tells the story of Justin Canha, a 21-year-old illustrator hoping to live on his own but facing challenges both … Read more
What is it that we really want from memoir? The kerfuffle this week over “A Widow’s Story,” a narrative from Joyce Carol Oates about the loss of her husband and their many years together brings this question front and center … Read more
The long-form buzz this last week has been all about Lawrence Wright’s piece on Scientology for the New Yorker, “The Apostate.” It’s ostensibly a profile, but it’s also investigative journalism and a compelling narrative. Wright’s deft storytelling was recently … Read more
When I first read the New Journalism manifestos by Tom Wolfe in the late 1970s, they changed forever my vision of narrative. In spite of my Ph.D. in English, I realized for the first time that a narrative had parts … Read more
Tommy Tomlinson has been a local columnist for The Charlotte Observer for the past 13 years but recently announced that he’s switching jobs to embark on a storytelling experiment for the paper. A former Nieman fellow and … Read more