CREATIVE NONFICTION & TRUE STORY
New issues out now!
In Creative Nonfiction #71: "Let's Talk about Sex," writers invite us to share some of their most intimate moments—first times, last times, and everything in between. By turns joyous, hopeful, playful, wistful, and even sometimes uncomfortable, the stories in this issue expand our understanding of how—and why—people (and houseflies and sea urchins) “do it.” Plus: five tips for great sex (writing); the eroticism of essaying; the art of the long sentence; tiny truths; and more.
|
|
|
+ In True Story #30, "Bought and Sold: A History of Lies and Broken Promises" by Renata Golden: A search for an inherited plot of undeveloped land in New Mexico inspires this sprawling history of lies and broken promises involving railroads and ranchers, land grants and land grabs.
|
|
|
Want more true stories, well told?
|
|
Current calls for submissions
- True Story (narrative nonfiction between 5,000 and 10,000 words)
Accepted year-round
- Pitch a Craft Column (for an upcoming issue of CNF magazine)
Accepted year-round
Other opportunities for writers
|
|
|
ONLINE CLASSES
Join CNF’s growing online writing community
Since 2011, our online classes have helped thousands of writers tell their stories better. Our 5- and 10-week classes offer firm deadlines, a flexible schedule that fits your needs, and feedback to help you keep writing and improving your work.
This fall, we’re offering 13 different classes, all designed to help you achieve your writing goals. Here’s how we can help you:
Fundamentals—open to all levels.
-
Write every day, no matter what.
-
Learn the basics of the genre.
-
Add some spice to your story.
-
True, "memoir" starts with "me" ... but there's room for so much more.
-
Break down the task of writing a memoir into manageable daily writing assignments.
Intermediate courses.
-
Distill experiences, big or small, into their purest essence.
-
Inform & entertain your reader.
-
Develop a compelling proposal to sell your book.
-
Gain the tools to critically & creatively approach unwieldy & challenging stories of illness.
-
Turn your stories and experiences into captivating essays with facts, characters & detail.
Advanced courses.
-
Move beyond the basics of memoir & tackle the challenges of longer sections & full-length manuscripts.
-
Transform your work & turn your personal anecdotes into publishable essays.
-
Take a deep dive into the unique challenges of writing excellent science essays.
Classes start
Monday, September 9
|
|
TINY TRUTHS
Winners from CNF’s ongoing micro-essay contest
Our daily Twitter contest is a great way to get your work into Creative Nonfiction. To join, follow us @cnfonline and tag your submissions #cnftweet.
Here are a few of our recent favorites:
|
|
|
@desoclair: At 83 Mom is shrinking. I don’t think about it during the day, but at night I dream I’m holding her. While we hug, her weight drops from 140 to 65 pounds. My arms are wet. I don’t know if it's condensation from my mother’s evaporation or if it’s my tears.
11:26 PM · Aug 2, 2019
@JennRHubbard: Fog swallowed an entire mountain, the way paper covers rock. We told ourselves it was all still there behind the mist--volcano, waterfalls, glaciers, wildflowers--forcing reason and memory to fill in that ghostly blankness.
12:50 PM · Aug 16, 2019
|
|
|
@ChristinaRossi6: When she returned to the faith after 50 years, she liked the stillness of the church and that it was solely for prayer and worship. She liked the clerics and imagined spiritual conversations with them. At eight, the gospels had just seemed gnarly. Now they were koans.
8:08 PM · Aug 19, 2019
@jpderboghossian: Wedding card. I open it, grip my pen, rummage for words, remembering the friends I've lost to marriages, knowing we will share texts, regretting our lack of time (kids; house repairs; marital obligations). I sigh. I pen my wishes of joy--hoping it's not a goodbye.
1:28 PM · Aug 22, 2019
|
|
|
DISTRACTIONS
What we’re reading
+ Lit Hub: On the Pitfalls and Power of the Religious Essay
+ CNFPodcast: Steven Kurutz—The Power of Libraries, Getting to New York & "Fruitland"
+ Brevity: Structure Is Everything: An Interview with Vivian Gornick
+ "All or Nothing, Self-Portrait at Twenty-Seven" by Jill Talbot
+ "Peacekeeper" by Harrison Candelaria Fletcher
+ "Skin Hunger" by Anne Royan
|
|
Classifieds
The Boston Book Festival celebrates the power of words to stimulate, agitate, unite, delight, and inspire. Join us October 19-20 for two days of free readings, presentations and more! - Learn more.
|
|
|
|
|
|
