Contact:
Hattie Fletcher
(412) 688-0304
June 19, 2006

PITTSBURGH, PA — Creative Nonfiction, the oldest and largest literary journal publishing narrative or literary nonfiction exclusively, and W.W. Norton & Company will publish and distribute a new anthology, titled The Best Creative Nonfiction. Lee Gutkind, editor of the journal, will also edit the anthology, which will be published annually in late spring beginning in 2007.

Nominations for publication in The Best Creative Nonfiction will be accepted throughout the year from editors of all publications, including alternative newspapers and literary journals published in hard copy or online. Gutkind said that the anthology will be different from the traditional “Best of” collections, “for we will be seeking new voices, ideas, forms and approaches in creative nonfiction, relying on literary journals, print and online ‘zines, alternative newspapers, blogs, podcasts and other media in which nonfiction stories and personalities can be dramatized and captured to fill our pages. “We will also be looking back in time for creative nonfiction classics,” Gutkind said. Many readers and writers don’t realize that creative nonfiction—or narrative nonfiction, as it is sometimes called—has been an artful and influential genre for more than a century.” He named A.J. Liebling, Ernie Pyle, Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell and Mary McCarthy as a few examples. “We won’t ignore The New Yorker, Esquire and other mainstream magazines,” Gutkind said. “But new voices and non-mainstream publications will be our priority.” Previously published and unpublished material will be included. Magazine and book editors (small/literary and trade included) may nominate annually, from their publications, as many as five essays, articles, or excerpts from books. The collection will showcase new voices, ideas, forms and approaches in creative nonfiction, so editors of web-based publications, and alternative newspapers and magazines are especially encouraged to nominate work from their publications. One hard copy of each selection should be sent, and no nominations can be returned. Nominations will also be accepted from a staff of consulting writers and editors. Nominations will be accepted year round, but to be considered for the 2007 edition of The Best Creative Nonfiction, submissions must be received by September 15, 2006. Nominations should be sent to:
The Best Creative Nonfiction
5501 Walnut Street, Suite 202
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

For additional information visit www.creativenonfiction.org.

Creative Nonfiction is an internationally distributed literary journal based in Pittsburgh, PA, and edited by the award-winning author Lee Gutkind. Creative Nonfiction publishes personal essays, memoir, and literary journalism by established authors such as Diane Ackerman, Annie Dillard and John McPhee, as well as showcases emerging talent. Each issue wraps itself around a meaningful topic, resulting in thought-provoking, high quality, accessible prose.