What consistently sets Siegel’s writing apart from many other newspaper narratives is his ability and willingness to construct an authoritative, muscular “argument.” In this case, he shows how a middle-class community in the 1960s failed to prevent a child’s murder, … Read more
The title of this piece triggered our mawkishness radar: It signals tragedy; we wondered how such tragedy would be handled. Reading, we thought the piece teeters on the edge of too much. But it’s also a powerful story, and it … Read more
This is a thorough and nuanced examination of the war’s impact on American lives. The story of the main character, Jeannette Mulligan, the wife of a soldier, provides an overarching narrative thread as the story moves from chapter to chapter. Read more
Viser writes about a young man, Zack Weinstein, who has “started an unusual process: healing by blog.” Weinstein writes about his experiences on his blog following a spinal injury that paralyzed him from the chest down. Viser alternates excerpts from … Read more
You might say radio has an inherent advantage when it comes to scene-setting. Put ambient sound in the background, and you’ve placed a listener in a particular place at a particular time. This story explores the struggles of military couples … Read more
We liked that DeGregory emphasized the human component in this story about the loss of her dog: her children and their reactions, her husband’s and her own reactions as well. The piece shows a skillful, light touch. Read “ … Read more
Rakan is a 12-year-old who, through extraordinary intervention by several powerful men, is flown to an American hospital from Iraq following the death of his parents and his own injury from American fire. It’s a compelling tale. We liked the … Read more
This is a beautiful example of writing well about endangered children. Wilkerson’s voice is at once poised, solemn, compassionate and engaging. The detail she has gathered and included is fine and telling. Her scenes tell us much about her character, … Read more
Wilkerson wrote about Angela Whitiker’s son in her Pulitzer Prize-winning story "First Born, Fast Grown." Twelve years later, she chronicles his mother’s successful struggle to earn a nurse’s degree and move from poverty into the middle class. What makes the … Read more
Orwell uses himself as a character in this piece, in the service of irony. Another character is a dog. We found the dog to be a brilliant, devastating, well-exploited detail. This is an excellent study in when to “show” and … Read more