Creative Nonfiction (magazine)
Creative Nonfiction is a literary magazine based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The journal was founded by Lee Gutkind in 1994 making it the first literary magazine to publish, exclusively and on a regular basis, high quality nonfiction prose.
Today, with a circulation of over 4,500, Creative Nonfiction is the largest literary magazine devoted to the genre and to serving a variety of readers, from nonfiction and journalism enthusiasts to poetry and fiction writers, editors and agents.
In its brief history, Creative Nonfiction has already achieved much acclaim. An essay from Creative Nonfiction: Issue 31, "The Writers in the Silos," was reprinted in Harper's September 2007 issue. In 2006 Toi Dericotte's essay "Beginning Dialogues" was featured in The Best American Essays, and two essays, "Road Kill" by Kate Krautkramer and "Ghost Children" by D. Winston Brown, appeared in The Best American Nonrequired Reading in 2005 and 2007 respectively.
In the past few years, Creative Nonfiction has begun to publish books in collaboration with a number of different publishers, including W.W. Norton and SMU Press.
Past Issues
| Number | Year | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1994 | Creative Nonfiction | The Premiere Issue |
| 2 | 1994 | Poets Writing Prose | The 2nd Issue |
| 3 | 1995 | Emerging Women Writers | The 3rd Issue |
| 4 | 1995 | Creative Nonfiction Classics | The 4th Issue |
| 5 | 1996 | Fathers and Fatherhood | The 5th Issue |
| 6 | 1996 | The Essayist at Work | The 6th Issue |
| 7 | 1996 | Points of View | The 7th Issue |
| 8 | 1997 | Mostly Memoir | The 8th Issue |
| 8.5 | 1997 | Surviving Crisis | Special Double Issue |
| 9 | 1998 | The Universal Chord | The 9th Issue |
| 10 | 1998 | Style and Substance | The 10th Issue |
| 11 | 1998 | A View from the Divide | Special Issue Published by University of Pittsburgh Press |
| 12 | 1999 | Emerging Women Writers II | The 12th Issue |
| 13 | 1999 | The Brain: A Nonfiction Mystery | The 13th Issue |
| 14 | 2000 | What Men Think, What Men Write | The 14th Issue |
| 15 | 2000 | Lessons in Persuasion: Writers with Pittsburgh Roots or Connections | Special Issue Published by University of Pittsburgh Press |
| 16 | 2001 | The Line Between Fact and Fiction | The 16th Issue |
| 17 | 2001 | Between the Lines | The 17th Issue |
| 18 | 2001 | Intimate Details | The 18th Issue |
| 19 | 2002 | Diversity Details | The 19th Issue |
| 20 | 2003 | Clarity | The 20th Issue |
| 21 | 2003 | Rage and Reconciliation | The 21st Issue |
| 22 | 2004 | Creative Nonfiction in the Crosshairs | The 22nd Issue |
| 23 | 2004 | Mexican Voices | The 23rd Issue |
| 24/25 | 2004 | In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction | Special Issue Published by W. W. Norton & Co. to Celebrate CNF's 10 Year Anniversary |
| 26 | 2005 | The Poets and Writers Issue | The 26th Issue |
| 27 | 2005 | Writing It Short | The Best of Brevity Issue |
| 28 | 2006 | Essays from the Edge | The 28th Issue |
| 29 | 2006 | A Million Little Choices: The ABCs of CNF | The 29th Issue |
| 30 | 2006 | Our Roots are Deep with Passion: Creative Nonfiction Collects New Essays by Italian American Writers | The 30th Issue |
| 31 | 2007 | Imagining the Future: Writing and Publishing in 2025 and Beyond | The 31st Issue |
| 32 | 2007 | The Best Creative Nonfiction, Vol. 1 | Special Issue published by W. W. Norton |
| 33 | 2007 | Silence Kills: Speaking Out and Saving Lives | The 33rd Issue |
| 34 | 2008 | Anatomy of Baseball | The 34th Issue |
| 35 | 2008 | The Best Creative Nonfiction, Vol. 2 | Special Issue published by W. W. Norton |
Past Contributors
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CNF Books
| Title | Description | Publisher | Year | ISBN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anatomy of Baseball | Twenty new and classic essays about the American past time. | SMU Press | 2008 | ISBN 978-0-87074-522-5 | |
| Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction | Provides writers with the working parameters of the creative nonfiction genre | W.W. Norton | 2008 | ISBN 978-0-393-06561-9 | |
| Silence Kills: Speaking Out and Saving Lives | Twelve new essays written by physicians, patients, and family members. Explores the communication breakdown in the current American health care system | SMU Press | 2007 | ISBN 978-0-87074-518-8 | |
| The Best Creative Nonfiction, Vol. 1 | A special issue of Creative Nonfiction that features twenty-seven essays that originally appeared in alternative publications, blogs, literary journals, and other publications. | W.W. Norton | 2007 | ISBN 978-0-393-33003-8 | |
| Hurricanes and Carnivals: Essays by Chicanos, Pochos, Pachucos, Mexicanos, and Expatriates | Originally published as Issue 23 of Creative Nonfiction, this book features fifteen essays that push the boundaries between fact and fiction. | The University of Arizona Press | 2007 | ISBN 978-0-8165-2625-3 | |
| Our Roots are Deep with Passion: Creative Nonfiction Collects New Essays by Italian American Writers | Twenty-one essays written by established and emerging writers that explore the unique intersections of language, tradition, cuisine, and culture that characterize the diverse experience of Americans of Italian heritage. | Other Press | 2006 | ISBN 978-1-59051-242-5 | |
| Rage & Reconciliation: Inspiring a Health Care Revolution | Originally published as issue 21 of Creative Nonfiction, the book includes new essays and an 80- minute CD containing three essays read by professional actors and a panel discussion of the ethical dimensions of the issues raised. Produced in conjunction with Pittsburgh's Jewish Healthcare Foundation, writers tackle health care in America, including problems of patient rights and professional responsibility. | SMU Press | 2005 | ISBN 0-87074-503-4 | |
| In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction | Twenty-five essays, all originally appearing in Creative Nonfiction, republished in honor of the journal's tenth anniversary. | W.W. Norton | 2005 | ISBN 0-393-32665-9 | |
| Lessons in Persuasion: Creative Nonfiction/Pittsburgh Connections | Eighteen essays written by writers with ties to the city of Pittsburgh. | University of Pittsburgh Press | 2000 | ISBN 0-8229-5715-9 | |
| A View from the Divide: Creative Nonfiction on Health and Science | Seventeen essays that attempt to demonstrate the many ways in which aspects of the scientific world--from biology, medicine, physics, and astronomy--can be captured and dramatized for a humanities-oriented readership. | University of Pittsburgh Press | 1998 | ISBN 978-0822956853 |
The CNF Foundation
The Creative Nonfiction Foundation pursues educational and publishing initiatives in the genre of literary nonfiction. Its objectives are to provide a venue, the journal Creative Nonfiction, for high quality nonfiction prose (memoir, literary journalism, personal essay); to serve as the singular strongest voice of the genre, defining the ethics and parameters of the field; and to broaden the genre's impact in the literary arena by providing an array of educational services and publishing activities.
The Creative Nonfiction Foundation was incorporated in 1994 and is a private not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The Creative Nonfiction Foundation is supported by public and private funds contributed by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, the Vira I. Heinz Endowment, the McCune Foundation and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, as well as by individual donors.
Educational Programs
The Creative Nonfiction Foundation offers a number of educational programs for teachers, students, and emerging writers.
Writing Institutes: Creative Nonfiction holds institutes throughout the year in a variety of locations and offers programs for writers at all levels of experience. Instructors include Lee Gutkind and other well-known writers, teachers, and editors. The institutes often cover a range of themes, from the basics of the creative nonfiction genre to writing memoir to travel narrative. Courses also attempt to emphasize the ethics and guidelines of the genre. In February 2008 CNF hosted the Mid-South Writers Conference in Oxford, Mississippi and 412: The Pittsburgh Creative Nonfiction Literary Festival will be held in October 2008.
Mentoring Programs: Creative Nonfiction’s mentoring program pairs new writers with seasoned professionals. The goal of the mentoring program is to help new writers 1) develop their technique and approach to creative nonfiction composition; 2)revise, edit and shape their manuscript; and 3) place their finished manuscript with a publisher.