Strictly Q&A

How the voices of five young women from remote, coastal Maine challenge stereotypes

A former educational policy advisor turned questions about raising her daughter outside the city turned into a surprising portrait of rural America

By Monique Brouillette • June 16, 2021

Cutler Harbor on the northern coast of Maine.

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Story Annotations

A profile of a film-score composer that soars like his music

Jamie Fisher's portrait of Nicholas Britell ("Succession," "The Underground Railroad") translates riffs and layers of music into text you can almost hear

By Trevor Pyle • June 15, 2021

Strictly Q&A

Empathy as the prime directive in writing about displaced people

Award-winning author Jessica Goudeau says journalists must expand their toolbox to write about the growing issues of displacement

By Madeline Bodin • June 11, 2021

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Chip Scanlan

Chip Scanlan

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Julia Shipley

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Roy Peter Clark

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Story Craft

Sage writing advice from the editor of Column One

By Madeline Bodin
June 9, 2021

Steve Padilla of the Los Angeles Times urges writers to tune up their writing with song

One Great Moment

“I spent my career writing hard news. That’s me.”

By Jacqui Banaszynski
June 8, 2021

John N. Maclean in an interview about his memoiristic new book "Home Waters"

Story Annotations

How a story originally reported for print was transformed for audio

By Carly Stern
June 3, 2021

The annotation of a This American Life episode shows how the same reporting was used to explore another aspect of the same story

Notable Narratives

A radio producer and print reporters partner on a narrative for multiple platforms

By Carly Stern
June 2, 2021

"The fundamental building blocks of the story will be your scaffolding," says This American Life producer Robyn Semien

Narrative News

Sharpen your narrative journalism skills in 2021 at these writers’ conferences

By Madeline Bodin
February 17, 2021

(Updated June 1, 2021) A developing list of gatherings you can attend in person or online

From the Editor

How Memorial Day memories become today’s stories

By Jacqui Banaszynski
May 31, 2021

Anniversaries and rituals can inspire curiosity which turns into creative enterprise

Story Craft

#5 rule of pitching: Make it sparkle

By Jacqui Banaszynski
May 28, 2021

Don't lose an interesting idea in a boring pitch

From the Editor

How lessons from past stories can inform future stories

By Jacqui Banaszynski
May 26, 2021

Dissect early-career story adventures to discover tools and techniques you can use to report, write, edit and teach

One Great Moment

“…silence so dense it became its own sound.”

By Don Nelson
May 25, 2021

From a profile of place, by Dennis Lehane in his 2017 novel, "Since We Fell."

Story Annotations

Embedding with EMTs to write about the first line of COVID first responders

By Chip Scanlan
May 21, 2021

Ava Kofman of ProPublica blended contextual and records reporting with intimate narrative interviews and observation

Digital Storytelling

Video essentials, solo production and — of course — camera gear

By Alexander Trowbridge
May 19, 2021

Field Testing - Episode 5: To end the series, Alexander Trowbridge grabbed a clamp and a camera to record a few final thoughts

From the Editor

Writing: Nine parts mechanic, one part muse

By Jacqui Banaszynski
May 20, 2021

Some thoughts on the work it takes to create the art

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