It never fully leaves. Years later, you find yourself at a New Year’s party and idly ask a friend a question about dads, and after 10 minutes’ conversation you realize both of you are on the verge either of insensate bawling, or else ready to throw a chair through a window. Or you find yourself […]
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Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
The Lives of Nuns: A Reading List
Life inside the cloister is fascinating. Poverty, silence, chastity, obedience: these are not characteristics most of us would devote our lives to. These women find freedom in strictures and structure. What is it like inside the convent walls? Here are five pieces explore the lives of nuns and those inspired by their works.
Posted inDiscussions, Nonfiction, Profiles & Interviews, Story
The Freelancers’ Roundtable
A conversation between freelancers Eva Holland, Josh Dean, Jason Fagone, and May Jeong about pitching stories, negotiating contracts, and breaking into a tough industry.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Everybody Loves Walter
The story of a homeless man who became the guardian of a California beach and its birds
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
A Reading List for My 25-Year-Old Self
This list is a birthday gift to me and, I hope, of use to you, too.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Guardian At the Gate
It broke the WikiLeaks story, then the Snowden scandal, now Alan Rusbridger’s crusading newspaper is trying to break America. But with its US campaign on the brink of disaster, has the deadline passed to beat a dignified retreat? News outlets want to break big stories but at the same time not be overwhelmed by them […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Fact-Checking ‘The Anarchist Cookbook’
[William] Powell quit his job and began writing for up to ten hours a day. Despite the title, there is nothing about anarchism as a political theory in the book, which focuses on drugs, surveillance, weapons, and explosives. About drugs, Powell knew plenty. He had overcome a speed habit, smoked lots of pot, consumed his […]
Posted inNonfiction
Longreads Best of 2015: Under-Recognized Stories
Stories that deserved more attention in 2015.
Posted inNonfiction, Profiles & Interviews, Story
Mark Haddon: ‘Ultimately, There Is No Narrative Without Death’
An conversation with the author about his dark new short story collection, The Pier Falls.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Power of 'Confessional' Writing
Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams, a book of essays, writes in the Guardian about the power of confessional writing: Confession doesn’t just allow – it incites. Someone tweeted about my essays: “After reading this book, I want to write about my hidden pain until my fingers bleed, and then I want to write […]
