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In this New Orleans Book Festival event hosted at Tulane University, authors Sarah M. Broom and Tracy K. Smith speak about the origins of their writing practices, the cultural impact of their respective literary works, and the power of storytelling to reach the truth in a conversation with Vann R. Newkirk II, senior editor at the Atlantic.
In this episode of NPR’s Wild Card podcast hosted by Rachel Martin, author Zadie Smith reflects on the twenty-fifth anniversary of her debut novel, White Teeth (Random House, 2000), and talks about her forthcoming book of essays and her generation’s struggle with the notion of time. “I’ve always felt there wasn’t enough time. I would like to accept time and also love it,” she says.
Directed Boris Lojkine, the award-winning French drama film Souleymane’s Story follows a young immigrant from Guinea who prepares for his interview to seek asylum refugee status in Paris. In the harrowing forty-eight hours prior to his interview, Souleymane careens through the streets as a bike courier for a food delivery app account he rents for a hefty fee from a fellow immigrant, tries to memorize falsified stories about political imprisonment another immigrant coaches him on for a fee, and rushes to find a bed each night in a homeless shelter. Write a personal essay that recounts a momentous event from your life and begins forty-eight hours before the climactic scene. Try playing with focused descriptions of your surroundings and the style of your prose to reflect the pacing and dramatic moments of your story.
A prize of $25,000 and a two- to three-day residency at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, is given annually for a book of fiction or nonfiction published
How much creative work do you do in a day? When Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei was asked this question for the New York Times Style Magazine’s Artist’s Questionnaire series, he said, “My work is trying to break the boundary of what is normally called ‘creative.’ I avoid trying to be creative. I try to push myself into normal life and bring the integrity of a normal life into the so-called art world.” Take inspiration from the idea of breaking down these boundaries and consider all the different ways your creative identity potentially bleeds over into your daily tasks and vice versa. Write a personal essay that begins with an exploration of how your relationship to language, craft, or aesthetics has affected your general outlook. Then expand on how this artistic perspective manifests in your day-to-day habits, actions, and interactions.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Five years later, it may all feel like a distant dream (or nightmare) or completely forgotten, but there’s no denying that the pandemic created irrevocable changes in our world, both big and small. Write a personal essay that reflects on how your life has transformed in the last five years. You might trace certain hopes, fears, or expectations as they evolved over the course of each year and consider where you are today. What have been the biggest shifts in your mindset regarding relationships with family and friends, socializing, health, finances, and travel?
In this 2024 Writers on Writing event hosted by the Newberry Library and StoryStudio Chicago, Hanif Abdurraqib and Eve L. Ewing discuss their literary careers, the craft of writing, and how they tackle the complexities of art and activism.
“There’s so much more to a book than just the reading; there is a sensuousness,” author and illustrator Maurice Sendak once said in a 1970 interview. Contrary to the growing demand of audiobooks and e-books, the tactile and tangible presence of a printed book is still regarded by antiquarian and rare book collectors, as well as bookstore lovers. Write a personal essay that examines your own book collecting philosophies, whether you dabble in digital editions or hold onto print books from certain periods of your life. As a reader and a writer, how do you perceive the value and enjoyment of a book as an object—the tactile delights, the smell, the sound of the pages, the craftsmanship, the wear and tear, the inscriptions found in used tomes? What does this say about your artistic pursuits and how they have evolved over time?
In this Left Bank Books event, Rebe Huntman talks about her journey to Cuba following her mother’s passing, which inspired her debut memoir, My Mother in Havana: A Memoir of Magic & Miracle (Monkfish Book Publishing Company, 2025). For more from Huntman, read her installation of our Ten Questions series.
Have you ever conducted an oral history interview? There are many reasons for recording one, from documenting family stories to reporting the experiences of survivors of tragedies and storing knowledge and perspectives of a particular region or culture. Try your hand at documenting personal reflections by turning to a friend, acquaintance, or family member and conduct a short interview with them, selecting a particular element of their life that you would be curious to know more about and that they wouldn’t mind sharing. You might browse your local library’s oral history projects, maps, and photographs for ideas. Afterward, write a personal essay about the experience. How did preparing the questions and asking someone to share their stories affect the dynamic of your relationship?
