This narrative follows the efforts of one woman to help her son, a 10-year-old with progeria, a disease that causes rapid aging and early death. The mother is also a doctor; she’s a compelling character, and her quest to find … Read more
This elegiac piece is at once memoir and a tribute to both DeSilva’s own father and his generation. It poses a mystery, draws readers in with it and resolves it, with grace and elegance. We admired the structural clarity of … Read more
This story about the construction of Boston’s new Institute of Contemporary Art building is a good example of involving readers in an overarching narrative, covering a lot of ground in relatively short space. It’s the kind of topic a paper … Read more
Getlen wants us readers to consider—and really, to be persuaded—that competitive eating is just as much a sport as football. We weren’t convinced, but Getlen makes an interesting case. He drew us into a strange world—in which eating 50 hotdogs … Read more
This story received the AAAS best science writing award in 2006 for newspapers and appears in Best Science Writing 2007, edited by Gina Kolata. It’s a fine example of both matching hard science and human narrative and using strong writing … Read more
This is one of those stories that makes us believe all over again in journalism, in its power to bring truth to light. Pasternak’s use of narrative in certain chapters of the piece makes suffering real. These scenes and characters … Read more
This is a good one for the religion file. It’s a big quote-heavy, narratively speaking, but the voice is quietly companionable, intelligent, sympathetic but detached—a good narrative voice. Writing for a Buddhist magazine, Swick is clearly oriented toward his particular … Read more
We liked Pierce’s breezy, almost jazzy tone in this piece, the ways she reaches out to her readers. We found some language a bit hard to follow, but overall enjoyed the ride—and learned more about Kerouac along the way. Read … Read more
This piece is one in a series of stories Nijhuis wrote for the High Country News that uses narrative techniques to get at the complicated issue of climate change. This story is indirectly related to the global warming, but like … Read more
This is travel writing brought to science. Nijhuis joins a group of scientists and students at a camp on a glacier. She’s a seasoned writer on the environment; her pieces for the High Country News don’t skimp on science. This … Read more
