Reading List: Nonfiction Craft Books

Here’s a list of books to use when teaching CNF. It’s not exhaustive, but it’s a good start. This list originally grew out of a discussion by members of the Creative Nonfiction Collective (CNFC). 

Thanks to Julija Šukys for this terrific list!

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• Atkins, Douglas. Tracing the Essay
• Barrington, Judith. Writing the Memoir
• Birkerts, Sven. The Art of Time in Memoir: Then, Again
• Bradway, Becky and Hesse, Douglas, eds. Creating Nonfiction: A Guide and Anthology
• Castro, Joy. Family Trouble: Memoirists on the Hazards and Rewards of Revealing Family
• D’Agata, John, ed. Lost Origins of the Essay
• –, ed. The Next American Essay
• DeSalvo, Louise. The Art of Slow Writing
• –. Writing as a Way of Healing
• Fakundiny, Lydia, ed. Marcela Sulak and Jacqueline Kolosov. The Art of the Essay
• Forché, Carolyn and Gerard, Philip. Writing Creative Nonfiction: Instruction and Insights from Teachers of the Associated Writing Programs
• Gornick, Vivian. The Situation and the Story.
• Gutkind, Lee, ed. In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction
• –. You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
• Handler, Jessica. Braving the Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Loss
• Iversen, Kristen. Shadow Boxing: Art and Craft Creative Nonfiction
• Kaplan, Beth. True to Life: 50 Steps to Help You Tell Your Story
• Karr, Mary. The Art of Memoir
• Kephardt, Beth. Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir
• Kidder, Tracy and Todd, Richard. Good Prose, the Art of Nonfiction
• Lazar, David, ed. Truth in Nonfiction: Essays
• Lopate, Phillip, ed. The Art of the Personal Essay
• –. To Show and To Tell: The Craft of Literary Nonfiction
• MacDonnell, Jane Taylor. Living to Tell the Tale
• Miller, Brenda and Paola, Suzanne. Tell it Slant
• Moore, Dinty. Crafting the Personal Essay: A Guide to Writing and Publishing Creative Nonfiction.
• –, ed. The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction: Advice and Essential Exercises from Respected Writers, Editors, and Teachers.
• –. The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction.
• Rainer, Tristine. The New Autobiography
• Root, Robert. The Nonfictionist’s Guide.
• Roorbach, Bill. Writing Life Stories
• Silverman, Sue Williams. Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir 
• Sims, Patsy. Literary Nonfiction: Learning by Example
• Singer, Margot and Nicole Walker, eds. Bending Genre: Essays on Creative Nonfiction
• Sulak, Marcela and Jacqueline Kolosov. Family Resemblance: An Anthology and Exploration of 8 Hybrid Literary Genres
• Thompson, Craig. Blankets
• Tredinnick, Mark. The Land’s Wild Music
• Williford, Lex and Michael Martone, eds. Touchstone Anthology of Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: Work from 1970 to the Present
• Yagoda, Ben. Memoir: A History
• Zinsser, William. Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir
• –. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction.