We notice the structural decisions Anton made in this piece. His first two sections summarize the narrative: Fire fighters are caught by a sudden blaze, and twelve men die. With the third section Anton backs up and begins revisiting the … Read more
Al Moreno is 60 and wants to join the Marines. He’s haunted by his father’s defection from the armed forces during the second world war; he wants the Marines to send him to Iraq so he can redress this painful … Read more
This piece provides a snapshot of one girl and her daily schedule. We guess it surprised a lot of readers, gave them a better sense for the competitive world of college aspirants. It’s a good example of using narrative to … Read more
This is an exceptional story: We notice the wealth of detail, reporting. We admire the efficiency of pace, of sentences, of movement from one event to another. We admire the varied sentence lengths, e.g.: “‘It should all be good now,’ … Read more
The opening scene in this piece got our attention; it’s muscular in its frank portrayal of character. It also effectively sets up a problem: a young mother’s struggle to care for and educate her profoundly autistic son. The two-part series … Read more
Allison focuses his profile on Nelson’s volunteer mission on the space shuttle, using details about Nelson’s behavior on the shuttle to portray him as a slightly nerdy politician who’s also—surprise, suprise—just a little opportunistic. Read “Shuttle Diplomacy,” by … Read more
LeBlanc’s lovely, sad portrayal of her father’s death shows character and relationship through 12 minutes of intimate tape. Read/listen to “The Ground We Lived On,” by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc … Read more
Saslow recounts Hixon’s injury, hospitalization and quest to find a new career. He moves between flashbacks and present-time narrative, changing tenses to help demarcate sections. The piece is a nice example of often-popular stories with the theme of triumph over … Read more
Rose offers an insightful first-person account of his experience with mental illness. Memoirs of descents into internal hells are getting more common—and that seems like a good thing. They demystify and de-stigmatize what is still a fraught area. Rose happened … Read more
We appreciated, were even grateful for, Streeter’s exploration of moral and political context in this story. He might have tried to make this a piece about overcoming odds, about the generosity of Americans; instead he focused on the girl’s struggles, … Read more