Creative Nonfiction: knockin’ it out of the park

It started with a pitch slam. The slam—which had nothing to do with baseball, and everything to do with storytelling—was the focal point of a National Science Foundation funded project called Think, Write, Publish. That slam spawned a string of events that has given us the newest volume in “The Rightful Place of Science” book series: “Creative Nonfiction.”

Lee Gutkind (who, by the way, is both a baseball fan and devoted writer and teacher of true storytelling) knew he had hit a home run a few years ago as he watched a group of scholars and communicators of science and innovation policy creating compelling narratives—together. The pitch slam paired teams of writers and scholars to come up with ideas for an interesting story that conveys science and policy issues, and present a “pitch” for their idea. Their goal: to convey complex messages on less-than-popular topics in a fresh, captivating way for general audiences.

Gutkind, a faculty member in Arizona State University’s Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes (CSPO) and editor of “Creative Nonfiction,” the first and largest literary magazine to publish narrative nonfiction exclusively, says “stories make a lasting impact on a large and diverse readership. This book is part of what is being called ‘the new narrative’—collaborations written by teams of next-generation creative nonfiction writers and policy scholars.” He notes that creative nonfiction is the fastest-growing writing genre in the publishing world. “It means true stories well told, communicating ideas and information in an accessible narrative form to enlighten general readers. We are witnessing the beginning of a worldwide narrative movement that will make a lasting impact on a large and diverse readership.”

Edited by Gutkind, David Guston (co-director of CSPO), and Michael L. Zirulnik, this collection of narrative essays presents expert knowledge about science, technology, and innovation policy without the use of buzzwords and jargon.

The book is the fifth in “The Rightful Place of Science” series, edited by author and ASU professor G. Pascal Zachary. The innovative series, launched in 2013, explores the complex interactions among science, technology, politics and society. “The narratives in this new book examine important policy issues with depth and vigor,” says Zachary. “But—uniquely, in terms of policy discussions—these stories bring the human element of these issues to the fore, making them more nuanced and engaging.”

This volume, along with the previous books in “The Rightful Place of Science” series (“Politics,” “Biofuels,” “Government & Energy Innovation,” and “Disasters & Climate Change”), are available in the United States and Europe via Amazon.com and the CreateSpace.com online store.