Longform Reporting Flourishes at Carey Institute
Rensselaerville, NY (PRWEB) November 17, 2015 -- The Carey Institute for Global Good welcomed its inaugural class of nonfiction writing residents on October 11. In the past month, its first twelve residents – all talented journalists and authors – have produced extraordinary prose to be published in the coming year in books, magazines, and on-line platforms.
“We are proud to host such an exceptional class of residents, and are honored to facilitate their work through the unique program we have created,” said program director Tim Weiner, a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner who provides every resident with personal mentoring.
“At a time when the Nobel Prize for literature has gone to a nonfiction author, we want the world to recognize that now is the time to support reporters, writers and documentarians who bring us news and information that might never see the light of day.”
“The world of longform nonfiction is undergoing enormous financial and technological challenges,” said Josh Friedman, vice-chairman of the Carey Institute, veteran Pulitzer-winning newspaperman and longtime professor at the Columbia Journalism School. “Now as never before, the world needs deeply reported, serious inquiry presented not only in traditional print form but also in visual, audio and digital media. That’s why we established our residency program.”
Rania Abouzeid, a Beirut-based freelancer who has courageously covered the conflict in Syria since 2011, is among the first Carey Institute residents. Her groundbreaking reporting on sexual violence against Iraqi women appeared recently in the New Yorker. “I’m very grateful, very lucky to be here at the Carey Institute,” said Abouzeid. “These people are serious about nonfiction. They want you to write. They will give you everything you need to achieve that goal. They will house you, they will feed you, they will give you support and mentorship, and all they ask is that you write. That is quite a luxury, especially in our current business environment where so many people are struggling to complete their longform projects.”
"When I got accepted to the Carey Institute I didn't really know what to expect. But for me, it’s been a dream come true”, said Jefferson Morley, an acclaimed Washington reporter writing the first biography of James Jesus Angleton, the mysterious cold-war chief of counterintelligence at the Central Intelligence Agency. “For someone who is writing books, been trying to write books, struggling to write books, this is the place to come.” He added, “I would say here I am about three or four times more productive here.”
“The day-to-day demands of being on top of breaking news can really get in the way of writing a book,” said Catalina Lobo-Guerrero who is writing a book about the collapse of the regime of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. “You do need some sort of distance and some sort of quiet time to let the story unfold. This has been a really good place for that to happen.”
“Writing without the distractions of everyday life and being up here in the peace and quiet of Upstate New York is amazing,” said Scott Rodd, who has traveled throughout the United States to write about life in the five poorest towns in America. “Having the mentorship of Tim Weiner and Josh Friedman has been indispensable, and also the encouragement and mentorship of other writers around me – seeing where they’re at with their projects, talking about our experiences writing a book, and working together to get through this experience, especially for those of us who it’s our first book.”
Other residents are writing about death squads in El Salvador, the experience being a “human lab rat” in a controversial behavioral study at the University of California at Berkeley, the ethics of eating meat, the crisis of public education in America, women’s rights in Afghanistan, and other timely and timeless subjects -- all within the peace and quiet of the Carey Institute’s rural campus, 145 miles north of New York City.
The Carey Institute Nonfiction Residency provides writers and documentarians all necessary resources to complete a critical work. Residents can apply to work at the Carey Institute for as little as two weeks or as long as two months. Applications for the second class of residencies taking place from January 2016 to May 2016 are due by December 1, 2015. The third term of residencies will begin in October 2016. Applications are available online at: http://careyinstitute.org/nonfiction-residency/
The Carey Institute encourages applicants engaged in the most pressing issues of the day, including, but not limited to: war and conflict; social justice and human rights, including issues of race and gender; science, health, agriculture, environment and technology; government; education; economics; and business. Applications are judged on the quality of the applicant’s work and professional promise.
The Carey Institute for Global Good is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2012 by Wm. P. Carey and is dedicated to making the world better by contributing to a strong, educated and just society. Through its programs, the Institute strives to bring together innovative and dynamic people from around the world to seek creative solutions to the most pressing challenges of the day.
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For more information on the program, or to schedule an interview with director Tim Weiner, please contact Sarah Gordon at The Carey Institute for Global Good at sgordon(at)careyinstitute.org or call 518-797-5100.
Sarah Gordon, The Carey Institute for Global Good, http://www.careyinstitute.org, +1 5187975100, [email protected]
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