Adam Hochschild, a longtime supporter of the Nieman Foundation’s narrative program, published a new book last month, “To End All Wars.” A former editor of Mother Jones magazine, Hochschild lives in San Francisco and teaches writing at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. He has also written several narrative books [...]
Tag Archives: Adam Hochschild
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, part 4: plot
April 11, 2011 – 10:49 am
[This last installment in a four-part series on writing historical narratives focuses on the importance of plot in nonfiction storytelling. The series is based on a lecture given by Adam Hochschild at Vanderbilt University in February 2011. Part 1 is a call to bridge the divide between academic writing and narratives intended for the general public. [...]
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, part 3: character
April 5, 2011 – 11:11 am
[This third installment in a four-part series on writing historical narratives focuses on the importance of characters. The series is based on a lecture given by Adam Hochschild at Vanderbilt University in February 2011. Prior installments have included a look at the value of setting and scenes in nonfiction storytelling and a call to bridge the divide [...]
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, part 2: setting
March 28, 2011 – 2:51 pm
[This second installment in a four-part series on writing historical narratives focuses on the importance of setting and scenes in nonfiction storytelling. The series is based on a lecture given by Adam Hochschild at Vanderbilt University in February 2011. To start at the beginning, read part 1, a call to bridge the divide between academic writing and [...]
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, part 1
March 24, 2011 – 10:27 pm
[This four-part series on storytelling and historical narratives is based on a talk given at Vanderbilt University in February 2011.]
Half a century ago, the novelist and physicist C.P. Snow wrote about how these days we live in two cultures, where scientists and humanists seem to have lost the ability to talk to each other. I [...]
Death, truth and memoir: the debate over Joyce Carol Oates’ “A Widow’s Story”
February 17, 2011 – 10:36 am
What is it that we really want from memoir? The kerfuffle this week over “A Widow’s Story,” a narrative from Joyce Carol Oates about the loss of her husband and their many years together brings this question front and center again.
Oates was married to Raymond J. Smith for nearly five decades; in addition to their [...]
Ian Johnson on A Mosque in Munich: narrative as “the sugar around the medicine”
May 12, 2010 – 3:37 pm
We spoke this week with writer Ian Johnson about his new book, A Mosque in Munich. After winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his coverage of the Falun Gong movement for The Wall Street Journal, Johnson went on to do a series of articles about Islam in Europe. Returning to one of the stories from that [...]
Adam Hochschild on narrative nonfiction, history and finding the next story
April 30, 2010 – 3:47 pm
Adam Hochschild arrived at the narrative journalism conference at Boston University last weekend feeling liberated after an intense six-year relationship.
But soon this writer will be looking to fall in love again. If he doesn’t, he will get anxious.
“Sometimes I am able to stay off the streets and out of trouble by writing magazine pieces or [...]
Channeling “The Power of Narrative”: Isabel Wilkerson on Boston University’s April conference
March 29, 2010 – 4:12 pm
Looking for thoughts on narrative from big names in a small setting? We spoke last week with Isabel Wilkerson, director of narrative nonfiction at Boston University’s College of Communication, about the upcoming conference “The Power of Narrative: Timeless Art in an Urgent Age.” Taking place at the University’s Photonics Center April 23 – 24, the event [...]
Narrative nonfiction events and conferences–is there something here for you?
February 22, 2010 – 1:54 pm
While tracking digital narrative experiments, we at Storyboard also aim to keep readers informed about the world of traditional print narratives. Today we’ve compiled a list of upcoming events for fans who want to hear from classic storytellers or learn elements of craft. Here are just a few of the opportunities available, in chronological order:
The Society of [...]
