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A narrative nonfiction reading list 

My gig as visiting writer at Montana State University-Billings is about one-third complete, and I'm enjoying teaching “Finding and Telling the Story: Narrative Nonfiction,” the advanced writing workshop that's listed under four categories in the English and Honors departments. The students are intelligent, motivated, and generally well-prepared. The institution has been very supportive.

And friends have been very curious. What are we reading? The bedrock for the course is Jon Franklin's Writing for Story, an easy-to-read how-to. For easy insight into how an author made certain choices, we're reading selections from my Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier. But additionally, we're reading some famous pieces that have appeared in American magazines over the last 25 years, including the following:

Gary Smith, “Shadow of a Nation
Susan Orlean, “The American Man, Age 10
Peter Hessler, “Dr. Don
Michael Paterniti, “Driving Mr. Albert
Laura Secor, “War of Words
Chuck Klosterman, “Why I Am Rooting For Duke

For me one of the great joys of the course is revisiting some of my favorite works and discussing them with others. Perhaps you will find some gems on this list as well.



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