Storycraft

A former managing editor of the "Oregonian" who guided several Pulitzer Prize-winning narratives to publication shares guidelines for writers of nonfiction that encompass such topics as story theory, scene establishment, and preparing work for submission.

Jack Hart, master writing coach and former managing editor of the Oregonian, has guided several Pulitzer Prize–winning narratives to publication. Since its publication in 2011, his book Storycraft has become the definitive guide to crafting narrative nonfiction. This is the book to read to learn the art of storytelling as embodied in the work of writers such as David Grann, Mary Roach, Tracy Kidder, and John McPhee. In this new edition, Hart has expanded the book’s range to delve into podcasting and has incorporated new insights from recent research into storytelling and the brain. He has also added dozens of new examples that illustrate effective narrative nonfiction. This edition of Storycraft is also paired with Wordcraft, a new incarnation of Hart’s earlier book A Writer’s Coach, now also available from Chicago.

While storytelling is a great favorite of preschoolers, many elementary age children are more drawn to crafts and other activities. StoryCraft is an award-winning library program that combines storytelling with crafts in an exciting and engaging activity for children in first through third grades. Each one-hour program includes storytelling, a craft, movement, activities, music, and discussion. This collection of StoryCraft programs presents 50 fun and educational theme-based sessions. Each includes suggestions for promotion, music, crafts, activities, and stories. The sessions also include bibliographies to help direct young readers toward additional reading, as well as diagrams, detailed instructions, and supply lists for the crafts. The themes range from a Jungle Safari to Math Mayhem to a Western Roundup, all encouraging children to enjoy reading in a variety of ways. Each session has plenty of suggestions, so that the program can be customized. Helpful Hints for implementing the program can help any librarian, volunteer, or parent turn a ho-hum storytime into a dazzling StoryCraft time.

In Storycraft: The Art of Spiritual Narrative, celebrated author Walter Wangerin Jr. illustrates the power of well-told stories and shows how important embracing story is as an essential tool for preaching and teaching the gospel. The book offers a theology of story that is profoundly incarnational as the Word takes on flesh in practiced speech.

The essential guide to parenting multiracial and multiethnic children of all ages and learning to support and celebrate their multiracial identities In a world where people are more likely to proclaim color-blindness than talk openly about race, how can we truly value, support, and celebrate our kids' identities? How can we assess our own sense of Racial Dialogue Readiness and develop a deeper understanding of the issues facing multiracial children today? Raising Multiracial Children gives caregivers the tools for exploring race with their children, offering practical guidance on how to initiate conversations; consciously foster racial identity development; discuss issues like microaggressions, intersectionality, and privilege; and intentionally cultivate a sense of belonging. It provides an overview of key issues and current topics relevant to raising multiracial children and offers strategies and developmentally appropriate milestones from infancy through adulthood. The book ends with resources and references for further learning and exploration.

It's the new nonfiction: the creative hybrid combining the readability and excitement of fiction with the best of expository prose; the innovative genre that has been awarded virtually every Pulitzer Prize for literary journalism since 1979. In this book, an undisputed master of the great American nonfiction short story shares his secrets.

Legendary writing coach Jack Hart spent twenty-six years at the Oregonian and has taught students and professionals of all stripes, including bloggers, podcasters, and more than one Pulitzer Prize winner. Good writing, he says, has the same basic attributes regardless of genre or medium. Wordcraft shares Hart’s techniques for achieving those attributes in one of the most broadly useful writing books ever written. Originally published in 2006 as A Writer’s Coach, the book has been updated to address the needs of writers well beyond print journalists. Hart breaks the writing process into a series of manageable steps, from idea to polishing. Filled with real-world examples, both good and bad, Wordcraft shows how to bring such characteristics as force, brevity, clarity, rhythm, and color to any kind of writing. Wordcraft now functions as a set with the second edition of Hart’s book Storycraft, on the art of storytelling, also available from Chicago.

In his book, Story Craft, John R. Erickson says that one of the biggest challenges he faced as a young author was figuring out, "What is a story, and what is it supposed to do?"Those were simple questions, he says, but they didn't have simple answers. We could say that he found his answers when he wrote and self-published the first Hank the Cowdog book in 1983. The series now stands at 54 books with over 7.5 million copies sold.For 26 years, Erickson was content to leave it there.But after receiving hundreds of letters from teachers and parents, he began to realize that his actual business was not books, but "spiritual nourishment." Good stories nourish the human spirit, and it doesn't happen by accident.Part 1 of the book describes Erickson's experiences as an apprentice writer and publisher. In Part 2, he attempts to defiine what a story should be and how it relates to culture and religious faith. And in Part 3, he gives helpful, practical advice to aspiring writers.