Overview

Part anthology and part craft guide, this collection of pieces from the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist offers something for readers and writers alike.   Lane DeGregory loves true stories, intimate details, and big ideas. In her three-decade career as a journalist, she has published more than 3,000 stories and won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. Her acclaimed work in the Tampa Bay Times often takes her to the edges of society, where she paints empathetic portraits of real-life characters like a 99-year-old man who still works cleaning a seafood warehouse, a young couple on a bus escaping winter, and a child in the midst of adoption. In “The Girl in the Window” and Other True Tales, DeGregory not only offers up the first collection of her most unforgettable newspaper features—she pulls back the curtain on how to write narrative nonfiction.   This book—part anthology, part craft guide—provides a forensic reading of twenty-four of DeGregory’s singular stories, illustrating her tips for writers alongside pieces that put those elements under the microscope. Each of the pieces gathered here—including the Pulitzer Prize–winning title story—is accompanied by notes on how she built the story, plus tips on how nonfiction writers at all levels can do the same. Featuring a foreword by Beth Macy, author of the acclaimed Dopesick, this book is sure to delight fans of DeGregory’s writing, as well as introduce her to readers and writers who have not yet discovered her inspiring body of work.

Full Product Details

Author:   Lane DeGregory ,  Beth Macy
Publisher:   The University of Chicago Press
Imprint:   University of Chicago Press
Dimensions:   Width: 16.50cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.540kg
ISBN:  

9780226825373

ISBN 10:   022682537
Pages:   284
Publication Date:   12 April 2023
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Table of Contents

Foreword by Beth Macy Introduction Part 1. Short Stories 1. Talk to Strangers Diving Headlong into Sunny Eden: A Young Couple Flees Winter 2. Get a Life Zeke the Labrador: An Intuitive Dog Saves His Owner 3. Explore Rituals Finding the Right Words: A Boy Buys His First Valentine Spotlight: Finding Ideas 4. Wonder, Who Would Ever? Meet the “THE” Guy: Flag-Bearer of the Rodeo 5. Establish Intimacy A Brothers’ Bond: Autism Ties Twins Together 6. Don’t Judge The Truth Is Flexible: Learning How to Panhandle from the Pros 7. CAST Around Gone in a Flash: A Garbage Truck Driver Walks into a Bar 8. Unravel the Mystery A Message from Roger: Long Ago, a Boy Put a Note in a Bottle 9. Carve Out the Elephant Davion’s Prayer: A Teenage Orphan Goes to Church to Find a Family Part 2. On Assignment 10. Explore News Briefs The Saint and the Sacrifice: She Was Devoted to Her Sister but Wanted Her Life Back 11. Ignore Important People Stormy Daniels: The President’s Porn Star 12. Find a Guide Pulse Nightclub: Aftermath of the Orlando Shooting Tests a Young Man’s Courage 13. Listen to the Quiet The Storm Chaser: Riding out a Hurricane with the Weatherman 14. Wait for It Fast-Forward: IndyCar Champion’s Widow Faces a Dilemma with Their Young Sons Spotlight: Reporting 15. Go Back The Long Fall of Phoebe Jonchuck: Her Dad Threw Her off a Bridge into Tampa Bay 16. Find the Helpers Twelve Hours in an Intensive Care Unit: During the Pandemic Part 3. Narratives 17. Make a Difference The Girl in the Window: Can Love and a New Family Save a Feral Child? 18. Inhabit Their Heads Every Day Is Payday: His First Real Check 19. Braid Narratives The Last House in Rosewood: No One Asked the Owner about Her Story Spotlight: Writing and Editing 20. Follow the Story A Walk in the Woods: Miss Teen America Finds Freedom, for a Day 21. Find the Bruise on the Apple The Old Daredevil: Evel Knievel Comes Back to Earth 22. Use Their Voices The Swan Project: For Troubled Girls, Etiquette Classes Open Another World 23. Walk a Mile in Their Shoes Mr. Newton: A 99-Year-Old Man Still Sweeps a Seafood Factory 24. Get Personal I Brake for Bobo: A Boy Loses His Stuffed Elephant Acknowledgments  

Reviews

I have been studying (and teaching) DeGregory's stories for years. There is no one like her. In addition to being a showcase of her best work, this book is full of practical advice about how she's able to pull off what seems impossible, over and over. * Christopher Goffard, Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer for the Los Angeles Times * DeGregory performs magic in this beautiful, heartfelt book of stories-and then teaches you how she did it. This is a book for anyone who loves reading, writing, or both. * Mike Wilson, deputy sports editor for the New York Times *

Author Information

Lane DeGregory is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Tampa Bay Times and host of the podcast WriteLane. Beth Macy is the author of Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America.

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