Reiman explains what she’s looking for in a story: “I want it to be human. At the end of the day, it’s all a bunch of humans doing stuff to humans. [I want listeners] to feel like they’re eye-to-eye ...

What happens when a story subject agrees to let you completely into their life? I was struck by this question twice this week: First, while watching the psychological thriller-like trailer for Nathan ...

Sign up for the Nieman Storyboard newsletter, delivered every Friday in your inbox. Dear Storyboard community: Nearly two years later, it was a team of student ...

The award-winning sports journalist and author of the new anthology ‘Be on That Hill’ parlays his years of experience into an immersive profile of Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton ...

The title and subtitle of Wright Thompson’s “The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi” lay down a marker of its audacity. It’s a work of true crime that, in fact, is a story of land, of ...

Seven years ago, David Grann found himself staring at a faded journal in a digital archive. It belonged to John Byron, grandfather of the poet Lord Byron, and documented his journey as a midshipman on ...

David Grann believes that scouting an idea for a book or magazine article should be more than an intellectual exercise. The right story, he says, “gets its hooks into you.” The tales that grip Grann, ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two posts about how the pitching, reporting and editing of a complex story about crime, assumptions and mental health. Today, Storyboard talks with Atavist editor ...

In the aftermath of loss, platitudes and silver linings abound. They creep into greeting cards and consolations that attempt to put words to the unthinkable and instill hope in the possibility of ...

In my office, I have a long table full of books that share a common theme: they’re all focused on the craft of storytelling and writing. I’ve turned to these craft books time and time again, and I ...

It started with a photograph. While doing research for an article about people trying to escape land during the pandemic, Sophie Elmhirst came across a website featuring a compendium of castaway tales ...

This essay is adapted from Rick Meyer’s notes for a talk at the 2005 Nieman Narrative Editors’ Seminar. Rick’s presentation was paired with Laurie Hertzel’s talk on scenes. We probably ought to ...