News / February 12, 2024

Creative Nonfiction and Narratively Join Forces

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me and since we’ve published any new issues of Creative Nonfiction. It’s partially because I’ve been writing my latest book, but also because I’ve been strategizing behind the scenes to ensure that the legacy of Creative Nonfiction lives on, as I look to this next phase of my life and career. I’m very pleased and excited to report that we’ve formed a unique friendship and partnership with the storytelling platform Narratively to help us build on our three decades of work and remarkable community at Creative Nonfiction. Many of you, I’m sure, are already readers or contributors to their wonderful publication, and those of you who aren’t are in for a treat.

When I first met the Narratively founders, Noah Rosenberg and Brendan Spiegel, just about a year ago, I told them I’d been an admirer of their work for quite a while and that I had looked on with awe at what they have accomplished and, I admit, a little bit of envy. They’ve published thousands of independent narrative nonfiction writers, built an incredibly engaged creative community and have successfully moved into podcasting, television, film and branded content as a means to grow and support writers like us; indeed, they have taken our genre far beyond what I imagined when I launched Creative Nonfiction.

Over the past year, Noah, Brendan and I have had many exciting conversations about our craft and community and how we can continue supporting it, and they share my unwavering commitment to you and our work. In fact, they’ve been great admirers of my writing and yours for many years. Noah shared that when he first discovered Creative Nonfiction 20 years ago, he suddenly felt: “I wasn’t alone — I’d finally found my people.”

To kick off our partnership with Narratively, we’ve teamed up to solicit pitches and completed stories for a special series we’re calling The Art of Narrative Storytelling, which you can learn all about over at Narratively.com. Our goal for the series, as Narratively states in their call for pitches, is to get “at the heart of what makes a great story truly great.” A tall order to be sure, but it’s one we’re thrilled to dive into with all of you. 

Narratively wanted me to emphasize how excited and proud they are to begin working with all of us in the Creative Nonfiction community. As a gesture of their support, they’re offering us a 50 percent discount on an annual subscription to Narratively. To access your discount, visit this special subscription page they created exclusively for Creative Nonfiction. 

This is just the first of many exciting collaborations we’ll be launching with Narratively in the coming months and I encourage you to get to know them and share your work. 

Meanwhile, I want to thank you, readers and writers, for your support and loyalty over the past thirty years. Launching Creative Nonfiction and highlighting our amazing breakthrough genre has been a satisfying and challenging journey. I will be working with Narratively to continue our mission to discover new voices and highlight their work and ideas in this new exciting venue.

All the best,
Lee Gutkind
Founding Editor