In 1998, after years of book and magazine writing and teaching, I founded a conference for narrative writers and editors. For its first three years, it convened at Boston University and was called Aboard the Narrative Train. In 2001 I took it across the Charles River. Renamed the Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism, it grew from 600 to 1000 participants and 50 speakers. I directed it for nine years, through 2006, and also co-edited the best-selling anthology of writing advice that was distilled from these conferences: Telling True Stories: a Nonfiction Writers’ Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University.
I also conceived of the Nieman Narrative Digest (www.narrativedigest.org), and a smaller Nieman conference for working narrative editors. The conferences, somewhat altered, have continued, the conference anthology is in print, the website continues.
I also helped found ongoing conferences in Denmark, South Africa and Brazil, am still engaged in building a few international conferences.
I speak often at writing conferences around the world.
