Writing the Book
How does a journalist make the journey to author? A variety of paths and potential pitfalls are here for you to learn from. Authors of memoirs, novels and nonfiction narratives write frankly about the ups and downs. These days the topic of books can’t be discussed without mentioning online platforms and self-publishing so you’ll also hear from the individuals behind The Atavist and Byliner as well as an author who brought his book back from the dead via print-on-demand. If you have a publishing (horror or success) story you’d like to share, please drop us a line at nreditor@harvard.edu.
I always have a camera on me or very near so I can keep up a visual diary of my life. Long before my first photographs were published, I explored my surroundings through my photography. It has helped enlarge my understanding of the external world in ways that I perhaps would have found difficult if not for the camera in my hands.
When I embark on creating a photographic essay, all of my energies are propelled in the direction of finding the core of what is happening inside the story and the heart of my subjects. Nothing is more important to me than sitting down with the elements of truth that transport me to places that I have not visited before. The legendary documentary photographer W. Eugene Smith, once stated, "Let truth be the prejudice!" I believe that is still a good way of doing work that is important to me.
Eli Reed, a 1983 Nieman Fellow, has been a photojournalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin since 2005. His photography career started in 1970. Over the years, Reed, a member of Magnum Photo since 1988, photographed around the world for numerous publications, including The New York Times, National Geographic, Time and Life magazines. He has produced two photography books, “Beirut: City of Regrets” and “Black in America.” The text for this photo essay was adapted from what Reed wrote upon hearing that he was the recipient of the Lucie Foundation’s 2011 award for Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Photography.
