Creative Nonfiction Newsletter
for Serious Writers & Readers

Table of Contents

Issue 33 On Its Way
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Become a Friend of Creative Nonfiction
CNF on the World Wide Web
The Mid-South Creative Nonfiction Writers' Conference
AWP 2008
Silence Kills Buzz
Gutkind Gets Candid
Picasso, Matisse, CNF?
Making Us Proud

BREAKING THE SILENCE

The latest installment of Creative Nonfiction takes a hard, in-depth look at the dangerous roles silence and miscommunication play in the health care industry. Typically this controversial topic pits one side
against the other, but issue 33, Silence Kills: Speaking Out and Saving Lives, explores a range of perspectives, with essays from doctors, patients and others. The stories cover everything from prison healthcare to medical malpractice, and they speak to anyone who's concerned about patient safety in our complex health care system. Subscribers can expect to see issue 33 in your mailbox any day now.

You'll notice Issue 33 includes a new section, "Keeping It Real," where we introduce rising stars in the genre, talk with editors and explore specific techniques and tips for writing creative nonfiction.

In addition, Silence Kills is being published as a hard-cover book from Southern Methodist University Press, with two additional essays not found in the journal version. See below for some advance praise the authors are earning in newspapers and magazines around the country!

CHECK YOUR LIST!

It's that time of year again. You're wondering what to get for that person who has everything. Or the one who says he or she doesn't want anything (though you know that's not true). Whether it's for your brother-in-law, best friend or mother, a gift subscription to Creative Nonfiction is a one-size-fits-all gift that will please anyone who enjoys a good story. We're offering a special deal this holiday season—buy an 8-issue or 4-issue gift subscription and get $10 off your second (or third or fourth) subscription.

Order by mail or phone:

Creative Nonfiction Foundation
5501 Walnut St., #202
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

(412) 688-0304

FRIENDS, READERS, COUNTRYMEN!! 

We need your support! We are in the midst of our Friends Campaign, which is an opportunity for our readers to kill two birds with one stone by making a tax-deductible donation and helping us continue to do what we love: provide a forum for great literature by emerging and established writers. Subscriptions are vital, but they just aren't enough to sustain our little nonprofit. Please consider supporting a worthy cause and giving to the Creative Nonfiction Foundation this season. Give $50 or more and we'll send you a "Creative Nonfiction: You Can't Make This Stuff Up" mug as a token of our appreciation. Give $100 or more, and you can choose the mug or a handsome writer's journal embossed with CNF's new logo. Please send a check to the address below to give to CNF:

Creative Nonfiction Friends Campaign
5501 Walnut Street, suite 202
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

CNF @ AWP

The 2008 Association of Writers and Writing Programs book fair is taking place in New York City this year, from January 30--February 2. Hundreds of literary journals and publishers will be manning tables and of course, Creative Nonfiction will be in the mix. Not only will our very own editor Lee Gutkind and managing editor Hattie Fletcher be there, but Lee will also be giving two talks about aspects of the genre.

Plus, CNF and W.W. Norton will be holding a little soiree to announce the winner of the "MFA Program-Off," a contest for writing students, with the winning prize a spot in "The Best Creative Nonfiction, Vol. 3." Join us to enjoy a drink, hear students read their exciting new work, and schmooze. Mark your calendar! More details to follow....

LET'S WRITE. SERIOUSLY.

This February we are inviting writers to join us for the Mid-South Creative Nonfiction Writers' Conference. Hosted by Lee Gutkind in Oxford, Mississippi, the conference gives focuses on memoir and travel writing. Featuring prominent writers and editors from across the publishing landscape, the conference gives writers the opportunity to interact one-on-one with agents and editors. Special pre-conference workshops offer the opportunity to improve your craft. Take your writing to the next level and have a blast at the same time! Registration is now open online (see link on our home page).

BUZZ BUZZ

Even though Silence Kills isn't officially out yet, newspapers are already buzzing about the writers and stories that make it a unique, compelling portrait of the deadly impact of miscommunication in the American health care industry.

The link below highlights Silence Kills and the emerging writer Pamela Skjolsvik, one of the finalists in the "Silence Kills" essay
contest:

http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=ae&article_path=/arts_entertainment/ae071019_2.htm

Another article, in the Boston Globe, profiles author Grace Talusan, another finalist in the essay contest:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/10/28/finding_the_stories_only_she_can_tell/

And the Tufts Daily caught on as well:

http://media.www.tuftsdaily.com/media/storage/paper856/news/2007/11/05/News/English.Professor.Retells.Story.Of.Niece.Wins.500-3078530.shtml

THE LIFE AND TIMES

To learn what Lee thinks of his "godfather" title, how he really feels about MFA degrees, the future of the genre and what topic he finds most stimulating, check out his interview with Dislocate Magazine by following this link:

http://dislocatemagazine.blogspot.com/2007/11/audience-with-don.html

HIGH FALUTIN'

For the first time ever, Creative Nonfiction has been given kudos for cover art! Check out our newest accolade from the website "Covers" by following this link:

http://covers.fwis.com/best_creative_nonfiction_vol_1

CONGRATS TO OUR GRAD

One of our very own CNF mentorship students is earning high praise for his writing! David Silverman's book Typo: The Last American Typesetter or How I Made and Lost $4 Million (An Entrepreneur's Education) has won Best Business Book of 2007. Get the scoop on this
memoir by visiting http://agman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=6.