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After three weeks of ice, you’ve watched every “Law & Order” spinoff in syndication from inside your snow fort. The long weekend is over, and you’re looking out the window through a mountain of empty Cheez-It boxes and powdered doughnut wrappers. You say you’re searching for inspiration? Something to get you through the rest of winter?
Look no further. Nieman Storyboard is here for you. We’ll soon be rolling out a new offering on the site: an Editors’ Roundtable. The roundtable is made up of legendary wordsmiths who have shepherded unforgettable stories that made a difference in their communities, won Pulitzers, became books and otherwise saved the universe.
Once a month, the roundtable will discuss an intriguing written narrative. Editors will pull at the seams of the story to show readers how it works and what makes it remarkable (and sometimes what it might have done differently). It’s like “Car Talk” with Lamborghinis and red pencils.
And we need your help! In a few days, we’ll be introducing the members of the roundtable, but for now we want to extend an invitation. Send us links to the most interesting narrative journalism you’ve read lately. Submitting something you wrote is fine, as is passing along the work of others, whether you know them or not. What’s the best piece of nonfiction writing you’ve read in the past few months? Is it a story with scenes that made you dream, gave you nightmares, or just kept popping into your head in the days after you read it? Send a story you’d like to see discussed to contact_us@niemanstoryboard.org. If you like, tell us why you think we should use it.
We’re looking forward to seeing your submissions. In the meantime, we’ll be introducing you to the editors who will contribute their time and talent to the roundtable. Stay tuned!
Update: Please limit submissions to nonfiction stories that have already been published.
Image courtesy Megan Garber.