Your Weekend Reading List is Here
Need a weekend read? Dive into the grand prize winner of our annual memoir prize, explore a historical true crime epic, or browse our flash essays. Prefer to listen or watch? We've got that too!
Happy Friday, writers! What did you write this week? It’s Friday, so be sure to hop over to the Narratively Academy Chat to share your #WeeklyWin.
Most of you know that Narratively Academy is our writer-centric community, and that we also publish original storytelling on our sister site, Narratively.com. We’ve been busy over there lately, so we just want to share a few recent favorites for your weekend reading pleasure.
The 2025 Narratively Memoir Prize Winner
We had over 800 submissions to our most recent Memoir Prize and all of our judges were so swept away by the grand prize winner, Andrew Printer’s epic “My Absolutely Chaotic Adventures at Sea During the Summer of 1984.”
Watch Andrew Read From His Winning Story
We also had a special virtual Memoir Prize Party to celebrate Andrew’s story, hear him read an excerpt, and chat about how much we all love first-person writing!
Flash Essays
Speaking of contest winners, we’ve been having so much fun with our monthly flash essay contests. You can check out all the winning stories over in the Flash Essay section at Narratively.com.
And stay tuned for our next flash essay contest right here on Narratively Academy later this month!
The Personals
For slightly longer personal essays that really pack a punch, The Personals is our home for first-person stories that capture a single unforgettable moment or event. Check out our whole collection, including a recent teenage virginity story from our own Jesse Sposato and a brand-new piece on green burials by Mallory McDuff.
Want to pitch your own Personals piece? Find out how here.
Narratively Out Loud Podcast
You can also listen to every recent Personals piece in our podcast, Narratively Out Loud. Find it on Spotify, Apple or the podcast player of your choice.
The Man Who Stole Shakespeare’s Skull
For our latest Deep Dive history, intrepid reporter Paul Brown dug into the enduring mystery of the man who (may have) stolen Shakespeare’s skull. This one’s a banger!
Widow in the City
Today’s brand-new feature is a supremely readable excerpt from Amy Gabrielle’s just-published memoir, “Widow in the City: A Memoir of Heartbreaks and Hookups.” I worked with Amy on a developmental edit of an early draft of her book, so it’s been extra special to see her revise the book, finish it, publish it and celebrate her launch.
Want to work with me or another Narratively editor on a developmental edit of your own manuscript? Hit us up here!
And on May 21 at 1 p.m. ET, Amy will join us right here at Narratively Academy for a special live Open Book conversation about how she finished her memoir, landed a deal and launched her book. Click here to add to your calendar and join us on May 21.
Have a great weekend, everyone. Happy writing!
Thank you so much for including me in this roundup. I'm looking forward to our live on May 21 to talk about all things book launch!