A Sense of Place in Narrative Nonfiction

Member price: $75
Deadline to register: February 14, 11:59 pm

Instructor: Michael J. McGandy

Writing successfully with place in mind is tricky. Locality gives narrative non-fiction work focus, verisimilitude, and grit. It also can limit the audience and fail to pass the “so what?” test. Senior Acquisitions Editor Michael J. McGandy will consult with authors who are developing narrative non-fiction projects: from concept and proposal, then pitching, and to writing. We’ll also examine specific case studies of successful and failed place-based books. We’ll leave the workshop with a short list of narrative goals that will guide us in crafting books rich in local detail and color and with a broad, even national reach.

Recommended Bibliography:

• Mason and Calder, Writing Local History Today: A Guide To Researching, Publishing, And Marketing Your Book (Alta Mira, 2013).
• Penn, How To Write Non-Fiction: Turn Your Knowledge Into Words (Curl Up Press, 2018).
• Zinsser, On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (Harper, 2016).

Michael J. McGandy is Senior Acquisitions Editor and Director of Three Hills at Cornell University Press. McGandy has worked in publishing since 2000, and has held positions at Macmillan Library Reference, W. W. Norton, and Rowman & Littlefield.