I had a surgery this summer, which forced me to take some downtime before the busy fall. But I am feeling better, and wanted to pop into your inboxes to say hello, and also welcome my new subscribers.
Thank you to the readers who continue to recommend and support The Reported Essay. To those of you just getting acquainted, I’m a professor of literary journalism, a nonfiction book author, and an independent journalist who focuses on feature writing. This is a newsletter about the craft and process of publishing nonfiction essays, features, and books.
I’ve so enjoyed meeting some of you (from all over the country, and the world!) during our Friday summer sessions on Zoom, learning about your essay ideas, pitches, stories, book ideas, academic projects and more.
Sometimes I feel like I am sending this newsletter to a few of my closest writer friends and students. Then I hear from some of you and realize these posts are reaching writers of all levels and backgrounds from far and wide. It’s gratifying. My last sessions of the summer will be on Friday August, 14th and I have a few slots left.
Freelancing & Fellowships
Fellowship season is coming, and I wanted to share a few related events that I will be a part of, helping writers fund and publish their work.
On August 6, I will be speaking along with my former Los Angeles Times colleague, the Pulitzer Prize-winning independent investigative journalist Robert Lopez, at an event on freelancing sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and the Los Angeles Press club.
Both Robert and I are also fellows at the McGraw Center for Business Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Robert’s investigation of regulatory failures and child labor abuses on California farms won a 2026 James Beard Media Award, among others.
You can register to attend here.
On August 12 at noon Eastern, I will also be speaking as part of a free webinar informational session about the Alicia Patterson Fellowship, along with current fellow Alexandra Talty, previous fellow Melba Newsome, and the Fund for Investigative Journalism Board President Ellen Weiss. Click here to register.
October 1 is the deadline to apply for the Alicia Patterson Fellowship—$40,000 for one year or $20,000 for six months of in-depth reporting. I’m a former Alicia Patterson Fellow (2018), who later served stints as a judge and a board member. I will offer some practical tips on your proposals and insights about the overall experience.
There will be a second Alicia Patterson Fellowship webinar on September 3, also at noon Eastern, with the judges who will review fellowship applications this year. They will share what they look for in proposals. Click here to register.
Also, just putting this out there: The first time I applied for this fellowship, I did not receive it. But a couple of years later, I tried again. Just a reminder to keep applying even if it doesn’t work out the first time.
In other news, I enjoyed hosting this recent podcast episode for the Institute for Independent Journalists, featuring Anita Varma, professor of journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. Anita recently published a book, “Solidarity in Journalism: How Ethical Reporting Fights for Social Justice,” which creates a framework for journalists to center the humanity and dignity of their reporting subjects and challenge narratives pushed by the powerful.
Further Reading
