Search results for “so you want to write a book”

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What we're reading: gay culture in the Middle East, stories for a body held hostage, and an athlete dying young

Our latest “what we’re reading” draws on the stalwart print newspapers and magazines that have carried the banner of long-form narrative for so long. From a 5-part investigation of a…
December 2, 2010
Michael Paterniti on narrative voice, the power of rewrite, Bill Clinton, old cheese, and flying Spaniards (part 1)

Michael Paterniti on narrative voice, the power of rewrite, Bill Clinton, old cheese, and flying Spaniards (part 1)

Veteran magazine writer Michael Paterniti visited the Nieman Foundation a couple of weeks ago for a discussion about literary journalism with Narrative Writing instructor Paige Williams’ class and other fellows.…
November 29, 2010
Jay Caspian Kang on the heart of gambling narratives: "All you remember, really, is losing"

Jay Caspian Kang on the heart of gambling narratives: "All you remember, really, is losing"

We talked by phone this week with Jay Caspian Kang, author of The Morning News essay "The High Is Always the Pain, and the Pain Is Always the High," our…
November 12, 2010
Anna Badkhen on her two books about war and a decade as a "professional intruder"

Anna Badkhen on her two books about war and a decade as a "professional intruder"

I had a chance to sit down last week with Anna Badkhen in Washington, D.C., to talk about her two books out this year, “Peace Meals” and “Waiting for the Taliban”…
October 25, 2010

Tracy Kidder in conversation with Darcy Frey, part 2: "I write as fast as I can to prevent remorse for having written badly."

Today we offer part 2 of last week’s discussion of narrative nonfiction between Tracy Kidder and Nieman Fellow Darcy Frey. (Check out the first installment, if you haven’t read it…
October 22, 2010

Tracy Kidder in conversation with Darcy Frey, part 1: "Anyone who writes for a living and doesn’t admit to being very lucky is almost certainly insane"

Last week, veteran writer Tracy Kidder offered his reflections on narrative nonfiction a public conversation with current Nieman Fellow Darcy Frey. Part of the Harvard Writers at Work series, the…
October 21, 2010

Move over Lady Gaga; meet Ron Charles (a.k.a. the Totally Hip Video Book Reviewer)

Has book publishing found its savior? Well, probably not, but in August, The Washington Post's Ron Charles made his small-screen debut in the role of a cranky, self-important book reviewer.…
October 1, 2010
Colin Harrison and Sam Gwynne on the editor-writer partnership, going deep and the difference between a subject and a story

Colin Harrison and Sam Gwynne on the editor-writer partnership, going deep and the difference between a subject and a story

In yet more goodness from July's Mayborn Conference, we're happy to post this conversation between Colin Harrison, who is currently senior editor at Scribner, and S.C. "Sam" Gwynne, author of "Empire of…
September 21, 2010
What’s in it from me? Crowdsourced magazines and storytelling

What’s in it from me? Crowdsourced magazines and storytelling

As a child, did you ever imagine yourself waiting for a call from people in need, people who were praying that you'd see their signal and come to the rescue?…
September 16, 2010

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