Who we are when we encounter a story can have a lot to do with how we engage with that story and what meaning we take from it. Our age, personal experience, cultural context, social morays, and even the … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This essay is excerpted from a Storyboard newsletter originally published Friday, Feb. 25, 2022 Just one day into the madness being visited upon Ukraine, and already there is no end to heartbreaking images. I study them … Read more
A while ago, preparing to teach a literary nonfiction class, I reread Nellie Bly’s “Ten Days in a Mad House,” her account of going undercover in 1887 into Blackwell’s Insane Asylum for Women. Bly is known for her bravery … Read more
You’ve written that gripping long-form story, and you’re champing at the bit to get a book deal. What do you do? My own journey started with a lot of wrong turns and even more learning, which I wrote about … Read more
All the great writers have proffered wisdom on the craft, the best-in-show quote being Norman Mailer’s: “Writing books is the closest men come to childbearing.” But the literary sages have offered scarce advice to serious long-form journalists on plotting, … Read more
The longer I dwell in the world, the more I believe our greatest values, as human beings and as journalists, come through empathy and listening. Also, alas, our greatest failures. Because the longer I dwell in the world, the … Read more
“I was crying.” Nate Rott is a correspondent on NPR’s National Desk focused on environmental issues and the American West. In 2013, he was sent to report on the death of 19 firefighters killed in Arizona’s Yarnell … Read more
These days, a conspiracy theory can burn through a population like a pathogen. And while these theories are built on top of untruths, the ripples they send out in the world can be very real. Jessica … Read more
Chris Gethard’s career may be the most zigzag-filled in comedy. He’s the author of several books, including “Lose Well,” on the importance of failure; an actor who’s appeared in high-profile TV … Read more
“When you don’t see something with your own eyes, it’s almost not real.” Moni Basu wrote three stories about Falone Maxi, a young woman who was with her friend, Mica Joseph, for six days after the 2010 … Read more
