Stuart Warner, an editor and writing coach at The Plain Dealer, wrote to us: "’Cold Blooded Liar’ is not a pure narrative. It was written by our investigative reporter and I edited it. We compromised, using some traditional investigative writing … Read more
This investigative-narrative series follows the story of James Yee, a Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo who was charged with espionage. It’s a well-written and well-structured piece, an illuminating account with a clear narrative arc, and a good model for ambitious reconstructions. Read more
We admired this piece in part for the way Fassihi’s use of the first person opened up her writing: She didn’t try to squeeze her insights within the more rigid conventions of standard reporting. The transparency of the piece, then—her … Read more
Bock reconstructs the story of customs inspectors in Port Angeles, Wash., a small remote city on the Olympic Peninsula. The officials detained—then chased and caught—Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian who’d tried to enter the U.S. from Canada with the makings of … Read more
This is a neat topic, conducive to good scene with its unusual site, strong characters and broad reason to care: the dying practice of setting up pins by hand. Batz achieves a nice, light tone with his snappy lead. He … Read more
We must admit we approached this piece about a father and his ill sons with a bit of weariness: another story about suffering children, death, loss. The piece is wrenching. It’s also beautifully done. The lead sets up poignant … Read more
There are many things to admire in Bearak’s collection of pieces for which he won a 2002 Pulitzer. We’ll just point out, for this piece about pre-9/11 Pakistan, his tone: It’s dry, almost wry, which allows for both the seriousness … Read more
Skloot explores the parallel political, cultural and gastronomic universes of two restaurants: a locally owned, eccentric bistro and a Bob Evans. We happened to read this piece not long after reading “Just Getting By,” a first-person account in The (Cleveland) … Read more
Ten reporters contributed to this summer sampler with scenes from the Pittsburgh area. We like the team’s reporting for dialogue, for the senses (how could you do a piece on summer and not write about smell, taste, color and sound?), … Read more
Many would say that this piece is not strictly narrative, and we’d agree. But there are plenty of narrative elements in the story, and we believe they’re what make the piece so effective: close reporting, intimate scenes, a distinctive voice. Read more