''Creative Nonfiction'' is a literary magazine based in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, United States. The journal was founded by

Lee Gutkind Lee Gutkind is an American writer, speaker, and founder of the literary journal called Creative Nonfiction. Gutkind has written or edited more than 30 books, covering a wide range of subjects from motorcycle subculture to child and adolescent ...

in 1993, making it the first literary magazine to publish, exclusively and on a regular basis, high quality nonfiction prose. In Spring 2010, ''Creative Nonfiction'' evolved from journal to magazine format with the addition of new sections such as writer profiles and essays on the craft of writing, as well as updates on developments in the literary non-fiction scene. Work originally printed in ''Creative Nonfiction'' has been reprinted in ''

The Best American Essays ''The Best American Essays'' is a yearly anthology of magazine articles published in the United States.Robert Atwan (ed.), Adam Gopnick (guest ed.). ''The Best American Essays 2008'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. It was started in 1986 and is ...

'', ''

The Best American Travel Writing ''The Best American Travel Writing'' was a yearly anthology of travel literature published in United States magazines. It was started in 2000 as part of The Best American Series published by Houghton Mifflin. Essays were chosen using the same pro ...

'' in 2013, ''The Best Women's Travel Writing'' in 2013, and ''

The Best American Nonrequired Reading ''The Best American Nonrequired Reading'' was a yearly anthology of fiction and nonfiction selected annually by high school students in California and Michigan through 826 Valencia and 826michigan. The volume was part of ''The Best American Serie ...

''. In 2014, ''Creative Nonfiction'' ranked 23 on the Pushcart Prize list of nonfiction literary magazines. ''Creative Nonfiction'' was a finalist for the 2014 AWP Small Press Publisher Award and a finalist in the "Best Writing" category for the Utne Independent Press Award in 2011. __TOC__

Past issues

Past contributors

Diane Ackerman Diane Ackerman (born October 7, 1948) is an American poet, essayist, and naturalist known for her wide-ranging curiosity and poetic explorations of the natural world. Education and career Ackerman received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Pen ...

* Jane Alison *

Roger Angell Roger Angell (September 19, 1920 – May 20, 2022) was an American essayist known for his writing on sports, especially baseball. The only writer ever elected into both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Baseball Writers' Associa ...

Jane Bernstein Jane Bernstein (born June 10, 1949) is an American writer and novelist. Biography Born in Brooklyn, Bernstein received her B.A. at New York University and her M.F.A. at Columbia University. She is a professor of English at Carnegie Mellon Univers ...

Frank Deford Benjamin Franklin Deford III (December 16, 1938 – May 28, 2017) was an American sportswriter and novelist. From 1980 until his death in 2017, he was a regular sports commentator on NPR's ''Morning Edition'' radio program. Deford wrote fo ...

* Annie Dillard * Andre Dubus * Stefan Fatsis * Beth Ann Fennelly *

Carolyn Forché Carolyn Forché (born April 28, 1950) is an American poet, editor, professor, translator, and human rights advocate. She has received many awards for her literary work. Biography Forché was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Michael Joseph and Louis ...

* Ellen Gilchrist *

Meredith Hall Meredith Hall (born March 25, 1949) is a writer and professor emeritus at the University of New Hampshire. She is the author of the memoir ''Without a Map'' and the novel ''Beneficence''. Background At 44, Hall graduated from Bowdoin College an ...

*Sonya Huber *

Heidi Julavits Heidi Suzanne Julavits (born April 20, 1969) is an American author and was a founding editor of '' The Believer'' magazine. She has been published in ''The Best Creative Nonfiction Vol. 2'', '' Esquire'', ''Culture+Travel'', ''Story'', '' Zoetrope ...

*Shawna Kenney *

Lawrence Krauss Lawrence Maxwell Krauss (born May 27, 1954) is an American theoretical physicist and cosmologist who previously taught at Arizona State University, Yale University, and Case Western Reserve University. He founded ASU's Origins Project, now c ...

* Erik Larson (author) *

Gordon Lish Gordon Lish (born February 11, 1934 in Hewlett, New York) is an American writer. As a literary editor, he championed many American authors, particularly Raymond Carver, Barry Hannah, Amy Hempel, Rick Bass, and Richard Ford. He is the father of t ...

Phillip Lopate Phillip Lopate (born 1943) is an American film critic, essayist, fiction writer, poet, and teacher. He is the younger brother of radio host Leonard Lopate. Early life Phillip Lopate was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated with a BA degr ...

Bret Lott Bret Lott (born October 8, 1958) is the ''New York Times'' author and professor of English at the College of Charleston. He is '' Crazyhorse'' magazine's nonfiction editor and leads a study abroad program every summer to Spoleto, Italy. Lott w ...

* Hilary Masters *

Todd May Todd Gifford May (born May 13, 1955) is a political philosopher who writes on topics of anarchism, poststructuralism, and post-structuralist anarchism. More recently he has published books on existentialism and moral philosophy. He is currentl ...

* Bill McKibben *

John McPhee John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American writer. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the four ...

Philip Metres Philip Metres is an American writer (poet, translator, scholar, and essayist). His poetry books include ''Shrapnel Maps'', ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', and ''Sand Opera''. He has published poems, essays, and reviews in literary journals and mag ...

* Dinty W. Moore *

Daniel Nester Daniel Murlin Nester (born February 29, 1968, in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American writer, editor, and poet. Biography Nester was raised in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey. He attended high school at Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hi ...

* Stewart O'Nan * Chris Offutt * Linda Peeno *

George Plimpton George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found ''The Paris Review'', as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was also known for " ...

Francine Prose Francine Prose (born April 1, 1947) is an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic. She is a visiting professor of literature at Bard College, and was formerly president of PEN American Center. Life and career Born in Brookl ...

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the ...

* Ruthann Robson *Elizabeth Rush *

Richard Rodriguez Richard Rodriguez (born July 31, 1944) is an American writer who became famous as the author of '' Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez'' (1982), a narrative about his intellectual development. Early life He was born on July 3 ...

*Heather Sellers *

David Shields David Shields is the author of twenty-four books, including '' Reality Hunger'' (which, in 2019, ''Lit Hub'' named one of the most important books of the past decade), ''The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead'' (a New York Times bes ...

Charles Simic Dušan Simić ( sr-cyr, Душан Симић, ; born May 9, 1938), known as Charles Simic, is a Serbian American poet and former co-poetry editor of the ''Paris Review''. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 for ''The World Doesn' ...

* Floyd Skloot * Rebecca Skloot * Lauren Slater *

Gay Talese Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire'' magazine during the 1960s, Talese helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considered, along with ...

John Edgar Wideman John Edgar Wideman (born June 14, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, memoirist, and essayist. He was the first person to win the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction twice. His writing is known for experimental techniques and a focus o ...

C.K. Williams Charles Kenneth "C. K." Williams (November 4, 1936 – September 20, 2015) was an American poet, critic and translator. Williams won many poetry awards. ''Flesh and Blood'' won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1987. ''Repair'' (1999) won ...

* Terry Tempest Williams

''CNF'' books

The Creative Nonfiction Foundation

The Creative Nonfiction Foundation pursues

educational Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

and publishing initiatives in the genre of

literary nonfiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...

. Its objectives are to provide a venue, the journal ''Creative Nonfiction'', for high quality nonfiction prose (

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

literary journalism Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...

, personal essay); to serve as the singular strongest voice of the genre, defining the

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

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 supported by public and private funds contributed by the

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to strengthen the cultural, educational, and economic vitality of Pennsylvania's communities through the arts. This mission is paired wit ...

, the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, the Vira I. Heinz Endowment, 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 A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...

, students, and emerging writers.

Mentoring programs

Creative Nonfiction's

mentoring Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

program pairs new writers with seasoned professionals such as Rebecca Skloot and Dinty W. Moore. The mentoring program's goal 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.

Online courses

''Creative Nonfiction'' provides online courses on basic techniques for research, interviewing, immersion, and reporting as well as instruction on writing personal essays.

Writers' conferences

''CNF'' hosted the Mid-South Conference in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, in February 2008, and 412: The Pittsburgh Creative Nonfiction Literary Festival in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. In the spring of 2013, Creative Nonfiction hosted The Best of Creative Nonfiction Conference at the

Pittsburgh Cultural Trust The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT) is a nonprofit arts organization formed in 1984 to promote economic and cultural development in Downtown Pittsburgh. The "Trust" has focused its work on a 14-square block section called the Cultural District, w ...

Arts Education Center in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, Pennsylvania. Creative Nonfiction also hosts an annual Creative Nonfiction Writers' Conference, dedicated to the art, craft, and power of true stories, each May.

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

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 The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern period ...

. Courses also attempt to emphasize the ethics and guidelines of the genre.

Editorial advisory board

A number of prominent authors, educators and media figures are members of the Foundation's Editorial Advisory Board, whose task is to help the Editorial Board sustain and guide the editorial mission of the magazine. *

* Buzz Bissinger * Edwidge Danticat * Annie Dillard *

Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...

Jonathan Franzen Jonathan Earl Franzen (born August 17, 1959) is an American novelist and essayist. His 2001 novel '' The Corrections'', a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, was a Pulitzer Pr ...

Tracy Kidder John Tracy Kidder (born November 12, 1945) is an American writer of nonfiction books. He received the Pulitzer Prize for his '' The Soul of a New Machine'' (1981), about the creation of a new computer at Data General Corporation. He has recei ...

Rick Moody Hiram Frederick Moody III (born October 18, 1961) is an American novelist and short story writer best known for the 1994 novel ''The Ice Storm'', a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 19 ...

Susan Orlean Susan Orlean (born October 31, 1955) is a journalist, television writer, and bestselling author of ''The Orchid Thief'' and '' The Library Book''. She has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1992, and has contributed articles to many ...

Ruth Reichl Ruth Reichl (; born 1948), is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''The New York Times'', Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and ...

* Rebecca Skloot *

External links

The ''Creative Nonfiction'' website

Lee Gutkind's Website

''Brevity'': A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction

''Creative Nonfiction'' on LitList
{{Pittsburgh 1993 establishments in Pennsylvania Literary magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States Magazines published in Pittsburgh Magazines established in 1993