Nieman Narrative Journalism Conference
On a late fall weekend in 2001, the Nieman Program on Narrative Journalism convened its first conference. More than 800 journalists traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts to take part in three days of interactive seminars, lectures and readings with many of the nation’s leading practitioners. By the end of the conference, there had been 26 seminars, four plenary sessions, and three group readings, and it is from words spoken at these sessions that Nieman Reports compiled the report that follows. — Melissa Ludtke
“Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, the voice of the author is what keeps us going. If the voice does not capture the reader, the voice is silenced by the reader putting down the book. The authenticity of the voice carries the reader along. You feel the closeness. The writer has been there. The voice is you. It is your vocabulary. It’s the way you talk to yourself. It is unique as a fingerprint unless you are copying someone else’s voice, and that’s not a good idea.” —Nan Talese
