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The Best American Newspaper Narratives, Volume 2
This anthology collects the twelve winners of the 2013 Best American Newspaper Narrative Writing Contest, run by the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. The event is hosted by the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism at the University of North Texas. The contest honors exemplary narrative work and encourages narrative nonfiction storytelling at newspapers across the United States.
First place Eli Saslow, "Into the Lonely Quiet" ( Washington Post ), follows the family of a 7-year-old victim of the December 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, six months after the shooting.
Second Eric Moskowitz, "Marathon Carjacking" ( Boston Globe ), is the story of "Danny," who was carjacked by the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing three days after the bombing.
Third Mark Johnson, "The Course of Their Lives" ( Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ), an account of first-year medical students as they take a human dissection course.
Runners-up include Christopher Goffard, "The Manhunt" ( Los Angeles Times ); Stephanie McCrummen, "Wait—You Described It as a Cloudy Feeling?" ( Washington Post ); Michael M. Phillips, "The Lobotomy Files" ( Wall Street Journal ); Aaron Applegate, "Taken Under" ( Virginian-Pilot ); Meg Kissinger, "A Mother, at Her Wits' End" ( Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ); Michael Kruse, "The Last Voyage of the Bounty" ( Tampa Bay Times ); Shaun McKinnon, "Alone on the Hill" ( Arizona Republic ); Mike Newall, "Almost Justice" ( Philadelphia Inquirer ); and Sarah Schweitzer, "Together, Despite All" ( Boston Globe ).
First place Eli Saslow, "Into the Lonely Quiet" ( Washington Post ), follows the family of a 7-year-old victim of the December 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, six months after the shooting.
Second Eric Moskowitz, "Marathon Carjacking" ( Boston Globe ), is the story of "Danny," who was carjacked by the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing three days after the bombing.
Third Mark Johnson, "The Course of Their Lives" ( Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ), an account of first-year medical students as they take a human dissection course.
Runners-up include Christopher Goffard, "The Manhunt" ( Los Angeles Times ); Stephanie McCrummen, "Wait—You Described It as a Cloudy Feeling?" ( Washington Post ); Michael M. Phillips, "The Lobotomy Files" ( Wall Street Journal ); Aaron Applegate, "Taken Under" ( Virginian-Pilot ); Meg Kissinger, "A Mother, at Her Wits' End" ( Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ); Michael Kruse, "The Last Voyage of the Bounty" ( Tampa Bay Times ); Shaun McKinnon, "Alone on the Hill" ( Arizona Republic ); Mike Newall, "Almost Justice" ( Philadelphia Inquirer ); and Sarah Schweitzer, "Together, Despite All" ( Boston Globe ).
512 pages, Paperback
First published May 20, 2015
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October 22, 2015
Whether you get the news from ink on newsprint, the TV screen or a blurb on the Internet, we've come come to expect the same. A rundown of facts that somehow add up to whatever event, person or situation is being reported. The Best American Newspaper Narratives Vol. 2 is an entirely different beast.
George Getschow's introduction opens a decade ago at a lecture by Tom Wolfe, a familiar name traditionally celebrated for paving the way for "New Journalism." And that's when Getschow digs in his heels and basically provides a new generation of readers with a primer on the history and evolution of narrative nonfiction over the last 150 years that could rival a chapter in any text book.
He closes with a sentiment originally expressed by Wolfe, "The future is yours. Go get 'em! The time is right."
The time--and decidedly much more--was right for the authors in this anthology. Eli Saslow evokes the raw, naked pain of parents coping with the loss of their first grade son, a victim at Sandy Hook elementary. Mark Johnson reveals the delicate balance of horror and reverence experienced by first year medical students in a human dissection class. Two separate stories from different perspectives take us onto the same wooden tall ship, sailing directly into Hurricane Sandy. Three more pitch the reader headfirst into the everyday struggles of mental illness within both elderly and young adult populations. These stories and the others in this book illustrate the need for narrative journalism in newspapers to remind us of the feelings, the emotions and the humanity behind the headlines.
George Getschow's introduction opens a decade ago at a lecture by Tom Wolfe, a familiar name traditionally celebrated for paving the way for "New Journalism." And that's when Getschow digs in his heels and basically provides a new generation of readers with a primer on the history and evolution of narrative nonfiction over the last 150 years that could rival a chapter in any text book.
He closes with a sentiment originally expressed by Wolfe, "The future is yours. Go get 'em! The time is right."
The time--and decidedly much more--was right for the authors in this anthology. Eli Saslow evokes the raw, naked pain of parents coping with the loss of their first grade son, a victim at Sandy Hook elementary. Mark Johnson reveals the delicate balance of horror and reverence experienced by first year medical students in a human dissection class. Two separate stories from different perspectives take us onto the same wooden tall ship, sailing directly into Hurricane Sandy. Three more pitch the reader headfirst into the everyday struggles of mental illness within both elderly and young adult populations. These stories and the others in this book illustrate the need for narrative journalism in newspapers to remind us of the feelings, the emotions and the humanity behind the headlines.
Displaying 1 of 1 review