The New Yorker's Lizzie Widdicombe Joins Us Live This Thursday!
Want to learn how top magazine writers find their best story ideas and how to get noticed by influential editors? Narratively Academy's weekly live video series kicks off in two days!
We’re very fortunate that at Narratively Academy we’ve cultivated an amazing roster of cool, accomplished and influential friends and colleagues. And we’re even luckier that so many of them are lining up to share their wisdom with us at our weekly live-video lunchtime series. We’re calling the series Open Book because that’s exactly what these remarkable literary figures are pledging to be. In addition to Narratively Academy’s own veteran editors, you’ll get the chance to hear directly from prestigious industry insiders about how to pitch, write and publish work that makes a difference. We’re kicking it off with an absolutely all-star slate over the next few weeks.
This Thursday, June 26, at 1pm ET, we’re thrilled to welcome Lizzie Widdicombe, who spent 16 years as a writer and editor for The New Yorker. As a staff writer, she penned everything from breaking news posts to an 11,000-word profile of Taylor Swift. She has also authored over 200 pieces for the “Talk of the Town” section, where she served as deputy editor for nine years. Lizzie will talk to Narratively’s Noah Rosenberg about everything she’s learned in these roles, and we’ll open it up to questions from you about, well, anything that’s on your mind. That’s kinda the point of this series!
UPDATE: This video has now taken place—click below to watch the full recording.
And that’s not it!
Here’s a look at what we have coming up in the next few weeks:
On Monday, June 30, at 1pm ET, Lee Gutkind, the founder of Creative Nonfiction magazine — dubbed “the Godfather behind the creative nonfiction movement” by Vanity Fair — will speak with Dinty W. Moore, founding editor of Brevity, about how to write great flash essays. Look out for more details on this one later this week.
On Thursday, July 10, at 1pm ET, join the Narratively editorial team for “Pitch Perfect.” We’ll talk through how to write pitches that get assigned; discuss details of our own newest call for pitches; and answer all your pitching questions.
On Thursday, July 17, at 1pm ET, acclaimed novelist Kern Carter will chat with Narratively’s Brendan Spiegel about how he landed five book deals (!) and he’ll open up about all the details of what comes after a deal is signed and sealed.
These talks are all designed to demystify the publishing process and give you a look at how the secret sauce is made. We’ll be celebrating successes, talking through roadblocks, and diving deep into the challenges we all face. On that note, we’re stoked for this next one.
On Thursday, July 24, at 1pm ET, Narratively’s Jesse Sposato will chat with Parisa Saranj, editor of the literary journal Consequence Forum, for a special conversation about How to Handle Rejection Like a Pro. It’s something we all have to deal with, so we might as well talk through strategies on how to handle it together, right?
…and much more to come! What else would you like to see? Sound off in the comments?
PS: Some of you may have received an email notification this past Friday to join us on Substack Live. We were testing things out and that one wasn’t supposed to go out. So don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything!