A WRITER'S BOOKBAG

Great writers read. They read fiction, non-fiction, and books about writing. Here are some suggestions to get you started. Click the links if you want to buy from Amazon (note: NewsLab makes a small commission on each sale). If you're teaching journalism, we also have a list of textbooks to consider. And if you want to read them in a whole new way, consider a Kindle!

Advancing the Story: Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World by NewsLab's Deborah Potter and VCU's Deb Halpern Wenger, CQ Press. 2008.

A Writer's Coach: An Editor's Guide to Words that Work, by Jack Hart, Pantheon, 2006.
Useful and funny--a great read and an essential reference from the Oregonian newspaper's writing coach.

Aim for the Heart, by Al Tompkins, Bonus Books, 2002.
Storytelling advice from a veteran journalist, now on the Poynter Institute faculty.

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Ann Lamott, Anchor, 1995.
Inspiring guidance: "Good writing is about telling the truth."

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, by Anne Fadiman, Farrar Strauss and Giroux, 1998
Personal essays on a love affair with words.

In Search of Light: The Broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow, 1938-1961, edited by Edward Bliss, Jr., New York: Da Capo Press, 1997
A collection of Murrow’s brilliant work.

Make it Memorable, by Bob Dotson, Bonus Books, 2002.
Tips and lessons from NBC’s Emmy-award winning national correspondent.

On the Road with Charles Kuralt, by Charles Kuralt, Putnam, 1985.
A collection of TV pieces by one of the best broadcast writers ever.

On Writing Well, 30th anniversary edition, by William Zinsser, Collins, 2006
Reissued in paperback, this informal guide to writing is studded with practical advice.

Read to Write: A Writing Process Reader, by Donald M. Murray, Dryad Press, 1993
A mentor to many writers, Don Murray deals with the barriers writers face and offers a guide for getting over them.

The Elements of Style, 4th edition, by Strunk, White and Angell, Longman, 1999
A classic, still useful after all these years. This edition has an index, which is essential. You can also find it online at http://www.bartleby.com/141/

The Writing Life: Writers on How They Think and Work, edited by Marie Arana, Public Affairs, 2003
A collection of short pieces originally written for the Washington Post by writers about writing.

Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud, Harper Paperbacks, 1994
Recommended by news director Scott Atkinson. "The single best explanation ever about the relationship between words and pictures, and one of those books that never, ever fails to give me a fresh set of eyes."

Woe is I, 2nd edition, by Patricia T. O’Conner, Riverhead Trade, 2004
A fun-to-read guide to English grammar. Honest.

Words On Words: A Dictionary For Writers And Others Who Care About Words, by John B. Bremner, Columbia University Press, 1980.
Easy to use; explains meanings in a way that helps writers make choices.

Writing for Story, Jon Franklin, Penguin, 1994
Advice from a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner on writing non-fiction.

Writing to Learn, William Zinsser, Collins, 1993.
Another Atkinson recommendation. "If On Writing Well is the how of writing, WTL is the why," he says. "It's also deeply subversive, in that it explains how the act of writing changes you."