In high school, I went from writing (insanely bad!) poetry to dreaming of a career in fiction. When it came time to declare a major in college, I opted for journalism, thinking it would foot the daily tab of my life while I worked on the novels and short stories.
But then as an intern at National Geographic and subsequently a newspaper reporter, I dipped a toe into writing about the real world—and discovered that all the brilliant literary goods are right there in front of you. A career as a magazine editor and writer has taught me that truth is indeed stranger than fiction … and a hell of a lot of fun to write, not to mention read, when done well.
I wrote
The Essential Guide to Freelance Writing: How to Write, Work, and Thrive on Your Own Terms
Any book by Larson would be a fit for this list, but I’ll stick with the one that brought me to the ball in the first place. When I first read Devil in the White City, I was blown away by how Larson is capable of taking an absolute mountain of dry research and shaping it into a page-turner that reads like the best fictive thriller. Larson so deftly recreates the past, you’ll begin to feel like you’re experiencing the sights and sounds of turn-of-the-century Chicago all around you. Even if only a fraction of the literary lessons rub off on you, your work will be better for it.
The Chicago World Fair was the greatest fair in American history. This is the story of the men and women whose lives it irrevocably changed and of two men in particular- an architect and a serial killer. The architect is Daniel Burnham, a man of great integrity and depth. It was his vision of the fair that attracted the best minds and talents of the day. The killer is Henry H. Holmes. Intelligent as well as handsome and charming, Holmes opened a boarding house which he advertised as 'The World's Fair Hotel' Here in the neighbourhood where he was once…
Mary Roach isn’t afraid to dive into the subjects of her books headfirst—and she doesn’t hide the fact that she does. While many nonfiction authors believe it to be uncouth to include themselves on the page, Roach hits the ground and reports from the scene, offering firsthand observations—and her perspective is what makes her work so brilliant. Especially because that perspective offers a human, and often hilarious, side to topics that often aren’t. Which is why I omitted the subtitle of this book until now: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. With Stiff, Roach proves that no subject is immune from her witty, wry, and ultimately fascinating reporting.
For two thousand years, cadavers - some willingly, some unwittingly - have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. They've tested France's first guillotines, ridden the NASA Space Shuttle, been crucified in a Parisian laboratory to test the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, and helped solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800. For every new surgical procedure, from heart transplants to gender confirmation surgery, cadavers have helped make history in their quiet way. "Delightful-though never disrespectful" (Les Simpson, Time Out New York), Stiff investigates the strange lives of our bodies postmortem and answers the question: What should…
At the age of forty-nine, Laurie Woodford rents out her house, packs her belongings into two suitcases, and leaves her life in upstate New York to relocate to Seoul, South Korea. What begins as an opportunity to teach college English in Asia evolves into a nomadic adventure.
Jones first emerged in bookstores with his poetry collection Prelude to Bruise. While some may have been expecting another volume of poetry as a follow-up, he released a memoir—an utterly powerful telling of his life, “written at the crossroads of sex, race, and power.” While Jones’ journey alone makes for intense reading, his prose makes the experience wholly unique; a poet to the core, Jones imbues his sentences with such singular voice and style that you’re left in awe of his command of language—and the possibilities to reimagine your own sentences.
WINNER OF THE 2020 STONEWALL BOOK AWARD-ISRAEL FISHMAN NONFICTION AWARD
"Jones's voice and sensibility are so distinct that he turns one of the oldest of literary genres inside out and upside down." NPR'S Fresh Air
Jones tells the story of a young, black, gay man from the South as he fights to carve out a place for himself, within his family, within his country, within his own hopes, desires, and fears. Through a series of vignettes, Jones draws readers into his boyhood and adolescence-into tumultuous relationships with his family, into passing flings with lovers, friends, and strangers. Each piece builds…
If there is a spiritual successor to Hunter S. Thompson, it’s LeDuff, whose blood pumps gonzo. As Publishers Weekly poignantly put it in a starred review, “Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist LeDuff writes with honesty and compassion about a city that’s destroying itself—and breaking his heart.” Seeking to make sense of his hometown, LeDuff gets his hands dirty—and returns to the page to document it with the gripping bravado of a barroom brawler.
An explosive expose of America's lost prosperity by Pulitzer Prize -winning journalist Charlie LeDuff
"One cannot read Mr. LeDuff's amalgam of memoir and reportage and not be shaken by the cold eye he casts on hard truths . . . A little gonzo, a little gumshoe, some gawker, some good-Samaritan-it is hard to ignore reporting like Mr. LeDuff's." -The Wall Street Journal
"Pultizer-Prize-winning journalist LeDuff . . . writes with honesty and compassion about a city that's destroying itself-and breaking his heart." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A book full of both literary grace and hard-won world-weariness." -Kirkus
This delightful fable about the Golden Age of Broadway unfolds the warm story of Artie, a young rehearsal pianist, Joe, a visionary director, and Carrie, his crackerjack Girl Friday, as they shepherd a production of a musical version of A Midsummer Night's Dream towards opening night.
The genesis of Orlean’s modern classic is a literary lesson in and of itself. Stashed in the seat pocket of an airplane, she found a copy of The Miami Herald, and a news brief about a man who had been arrested for stealing orchids from a swamp. The New Yorker agreed to send Orlean down to snoop around—and an article, and subsequently book, was born. The piece is equal parts character and subculture study, and Orlean masterfully brings telling details to the page that illuminate both in the most brilliant of ways.
The book would go on to inspire the Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman film Adaptation—a fantastic reminder to always keep your radar for story firing on all cylinders. After all, it all started with a tiny newspaper clipping. It just takes the right writer to find it.
The story of orchid thief and obsessive, John Laroche, and the bizarre world of the orchid fanciers of Florida. The world of the orchid hunters, breeders and showmen, their rivalries, vendettas and crimes, smuggling, thefts and worse provide the backdrop to an exploration of one of the byways of human nature, the obsessive world of the collector.
So you want to be a freelance writer. Great! But now you're faced with a laundry list of questions: Should I freelance full time or part-time? Should I write for magazines, newspapers, or online markets? How do I dream up the perfect article idea, and how do I pitch it successfully? How do I negotiate contracts, foster relationships with editors, and start getting steady work while avoiding financial panic attacks and unpleasant ulcers? The Essential Guide to Freelance Writing answers all of these questions—and much more. From breaking in to navigating the basics of the business, this book is your road map to a fruitful and rewarding freelance life.
An enthralling portrait of the Bloomsbury Group’s key figures told through a rich collection of intimate photographs. Photography framed the world of the Bloomsbury Group. The thousands of photographs surviving in albums kept by Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Dora Carrington, and Lytton Strachey, among others, today offer us a private…
