Do you have students whose nonfiction writing is formulaic, devoid of energy and voice? In Making Nonfiction from Scratch bestselling PD and children's book author Ralph Fletcher offers a candid critique of how nonfiction writing is often taught in schools and gives teachers the inspiration and strategies they need to help their students write authentic nonfiction. Skilled nonfiction writers draw on strategies, techniques, and craft found in other genres: poetry, comedy, even mystery. Without those elements, nonfiction would be dry and dull. Making Nonfiction from Scratch helps bring all of those aspects together and shows how each genre can enrich nonfiction writing. Ralph emphasizes the power of choice, mentor texts, and nonfiction read-alouds in making nonfiction an everyday part of classrooms. Classroom Connection- sections throughout the book suggest immediate, practical strategies for putting the ideas in the book to use. Two case studies and a chapter on the dos and don'ts of nonfiction writing instruction round out this short, practical book. Any informational writing should be insightful, accurate, and well organized - but it doesn't have to be boring. Ralph invites you to make your classroom a place where students can create delicious nonfiction full of passion, voice, and insight.

A collection of essays from today’s most acclaimed authors—from Cheryl Strayed to Roxane Gay to Jennifer Weiner, Alexander Chee, Nick Hornby, and Jonathan Franzen—on the realities of making a living in the writing world. In the literary world, the debate around writing and commerce often begs us to take sides: either writers should be paid for everything they do or writers should just pay their dues and count themselves lucky to be published. You should never quit your day job, but your ultimate goal should be to quit your day job. It’s an endless, confusing, and often controversial conversation that, despite our bare-it-all culture, still remains taboo. In Scratch, Manjula Martin has gathered interviews and essays from established and rising authors to confront the age-old question: how do creative people make money? As contributors including Jonathan Franzen, Cheryl Strayed, Roxane Gay, Nick Hornby, Susan Orlean, Alexander Chee, Daniel Jose Older, Jennifer Weiner, and Yiyun Li candidly and emotionally discuss money, MFA programs, teaching fellowships, finally getting published, and what success really means to them, Scratch honestly addresses the tensions between writing and money, work and life, literature and commerce. The result is an entertaining and inspiring book that helps readers and writers understand what it’s really like to make art in a world that runs on money—and why it matters. Essential reading for aspiring and experienced writers, and for anyone interested in the future of literature, Scratch is the perfect bookshelf companion to On Writing, Never Can Say Goodbye, and MFA vs. NYC.

Publishing Your Nonfiction Book In Publish Your Nonfiction Book, successful literary agent Sharlene Martin and noted novelist and nonfiction author Anthony Flacco draw on their years of experience to provide you with an in-depth understanding of what the publishing industry is really like and how to successfully navigate it in order to ensure a long-term career. You'll learn: Techniques for writing a strong query letter that hooks agents and editors right from the start Strategies for putting together a stellar proposal package that successfully pitches you and your book Methods for creating a respectable author platform - before you start pitching your book Tips for getting an agent and building a lasting working relationship And much, much more! Plus, the authors examine actual query letters and proposals that worked, so you can see firsthand exactly what catches an agent's attention and why. Publish Your Nonfiction Book is the one-on-one agent consultation you need - but seldom get - to learn the ropes and seal the deal.

"Do you have students whose nonfiction writing is formulaic, devoid of energy and voice? In Making Nonfiction from scratch bestselling PD and children's book author Ralph Fletcher offers a candid critique of how nonfiction writing is often taught in schools and gives teachers the inspiration and strategies they need to help their students write authentic nonfiction. Skilled nonfiction writers draw on strategies, techniques, and craft found in other genres: poetry, comedy, even mystery. Without those elements, nonfiction would be dry and dull. Making Nonfiction from Scratch helps bring all of those aspects together and shows how each genre can enrich nonfiction writing. Ralph emphasizes the power of choice, mentor texts, and nonfiction read-alouds in making nonfiction an everyday part of classrooms. 'Classroom Connection' sections throughout the book suggest immediate, practical strategies for putting the ideas in the book to use. Two case studies and a chapter on the dos and don'ts of nonfiction writing instruction round out this short, practical book. Any informational writing should be insightful, accurate, and well organized -- but it doesn't have to be boring. Ralph invites you to make your classroom a place where students can create delicious nonfiction full of passion, voice, and insight."--Publisher's website.

This guide contains everything I know about how to design, test, and refine nonfiction that is able to endure for years, get recommended, and grow on its own. Whether you're aiming for this guide can help you get there.

Creative nonfiction — prose that fuses the conventions of reportage with the aesthetics of literature and the passion for self-expression — is emerging as one of the most important contemporary genres, one that captures the imagination and commitment of student writers. Creating Nonfiction provides everything students need to begin to understand and write creative nonfiction: an engaging rhetoric, an unsurpassed anthology, and a wealth of editorial features that inspire writing.

An aircraft carrier adrift with a crew the size of a small town. A killer in their midst. And the disgraced Navy SEAL who must track him down . . . The high-octane debut thriller from New York Times bestselling writing team Webb & Mann—combat-decorated Navy SEAL Brandon Webb and award-winning author John David Mann. A BARRY AWARD NOMINEE • “Sensationally good—an instant classic, maybe an instant legend.”—Lee Child The moment Navy SEAL sniper Finn sets foot on the USS Abraham Lincolnto hitch a ride home from the Persian Gulf, it’s clear something is deeply wrong. Leadership is weak. Morale is low. And when crew members start disappearing one by one, what at first seems like a random string of suicides soon reveals something far more sinister: There’s a serial killer on board. Suspicion falls on Finn, the newcomer to the ship. After all, he’s being sent home in disgrace, recalled from the field under the dark cloud of a mission gone horribly wrong. He’s also a lone wolf, haunted by gaps in his memory and the elusive sense that something he missed may have contributed to civilian deaths on his last assignment. Finding the killer offers a chance at redemption . . . if he can stay alive long enough to prove it isn’t him. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY