Five acclaimed longform science writers on the power of weaving knowledge into narrative.
PITTSBURGH, PA: The Creative Nonfiction Foundation, a literary nonprofit that inspires and supports writers of true stories through a diverse range of publishing and educational projects and programs, is proud to announce Science as Story, a new lecture series featuring five acclaimed female longform science writers on the challenges of bridging the gap between research and storytelling.
The Science as Story events will be held between March and April at venues around Pittsburgh and will focus on how to bring stories that matter to a wider audience, as well as how narrative can help us understand and appreciate the sciences’ impact on our daily lives. All events are free but do require pre-registration as space is limited.
Presentations, presenters, and locations for Science as Story:
AZRA RAZA, MD
The C Word: Writing About Cancer Using Scholarship & Empathy
Thursday, March 12th at 7 pm EST | Ace Hotel Ballroom (120 S Whitfield St, Pittsburgh). Azra Raza is the author of The First Cell: And the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the Last.
AMANDA LITTLE
Climate Change at Home: Bringing a Global Problem to the Dinner Table*
Sunday, March 22nd at 4:30 pm EST | Trust Arts Center (805 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh). Amanda Little is the author of The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World.
* This event is in partnership with the Pittsburgh Humanities Festival.
DAWN RAFFEL
A Doctor in Time: Making History Matter to a Modern Audience
Thursday, March 26th at 7 pm EST | The Beauty Shoppe, Arsenal Motors (3700 Butler St, Pittsburgh). Dawn Raffel is the author of The Strange Case of Dr. Couney: How a Mysterious European Showman Saved Thousands of American Babies.
DANIELLE OFRI, MD, PHD
Medical Error: The Untold Story in Medicine
Thursday, April 2nd at 7 pm EST | Carnegie Free Library (300 Beechwood Ave, Carnegie). Danielle Ofri is the author of When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error.
* This event is presented in partnership with the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall.
RUTH KASSINGER
Biology on the Page: Delighting the Reader with Fascinating Facts
Thursday, April 16th at 7 pm EST | Phipps Conservatory, Botany Hall (1 Schenley Dr, Pittsburgh). Ruth Kassinger is the author of Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us.
Each presenter will also participate in a separate up-close-and-personal conversation about the art, craft, and business of writing narrative science. All conversations will be held at The Beauty Shoppe, Arsenal Motors (3700 Butler St, Pittsburgh) and live broadcast online.
The series concludes with a free six-week writing workshop for twelve scientists seeking to explore narrative, or anyone exploring ways to tell a science-focused story. This intensive series is a crash course in crafting engaging nonfiction for a general audience. Accepted fellows will work on developing one story to present at a special “graduation” reading at the end of the workshops. Workshops will take place between April 22 and May 27 at Creative Nonfiction’s workshop space (607 College Ave, Pittsburgh).
“We believe that crafting and sharing true stories based on real-world experience is one of the most powerful tools humans have for fostering empathy, communicating information, and changing themselves, their culture, and the world,” says Creative Nonfiction founder, Lee Gutkind. “Science as Story is a wonderful opportunity for us to explore real-world examples of the power of telling stories that matter.”
Learn more or register at: creativenonfiction.org/science-story
Funding for Science as Story was provided by The Pittsburgh Foundation.
About the presenters:
AMANDA LITTLE is a professor of journalism and Writer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University. Her reporting on energy, technology, and the environment has taken her to ultra-deep oil rigs, down manholes, and inside monsoon clouds. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from the New York Times and the Washington Post to Wired, Rolling Stone, and Bloomberg Businessweek.
AZRA RAZA, MD, is the Chan Soon-Shiong professor of medicine and the director of the MDS Center at Columbia University. In addition to publishing widely in basic and clinical cancer research, Raza is also the coeditor of the highly acclaimed website 3QuarksDaily.com.
RUTH KASSINGER is the author of Paradise Under Glass and A Garden of Marvels, as well as a number of award-winning science and history books for young adults. She has written for the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Health magazine, National Geographic Explorer, and other publications. She is a frequent speaker at conservatories, arboretums, and garden clubs, and has been featured on radio shows and Voice of America.
DANIELLE OFRI, MD, PhD, is an internist at Bellevue Hospital and is a clinical professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine. She is the author of six books, the newest of which is When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error. Ofri writes regularly for the New York Times, the Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Slate Magazine, and her writings have been selected for Best American Essays and Best American Science Writing series.
DAWN RAFFEL is a journalist, memoirist, and short story writer whose work has been widely anthologized. A longtime magazine editor, she helped launch O, The Oprah Magazine. She has also taught creative writing at Columbia University; at Summer Literary Seminars in St. Petersburg, Russia; Montreal; and Vilnius, Lithuania; and at the Center for Fiction in New York. She now works as an independent editor and book reviewer.
About Creative Nonfiction:
The CREATIVE NONFICTION Foundation supports writers of true stories through a diverse range of publishing and educational projects and programs; provides platforms to showcase the power & flexibility of the form; connects writers with resources that can help them develop skills and meet their goals; serves as a leader in the field of narrative storytelling, helping define the ethics and parameters of the field; aims to broaden the genre’s impact not only in the publishing world but also in the arts, humanities, and sciences; helps readers and writers alike understand, appreciate, and discuss difficult topics; and serves as a local, national, and global hub for the genre’s fans, supporters, advocates, and practitioners.
LEE GUTKIND, author and editor of nearly thirty books and founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction magazine, is the Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes at Arizona State University and a professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society. Gutkind has lectured to audiences around the world and has appeared on many national television shows, including Good Morning America and The Daily Show.
About the Pittsburgh Foundation:
The PITTSBURGH FOUNDATION improves quality of life in the region by evaluating and addressing the most pressing issues, promoting responsible philanthropy and making grants of more than $40 million each year. Through 100 Percent Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Foundation is working to ensure that every member of our community can access the benefits of the region’s improved economy. Established in 1945, The Pittsburgh Foundation is one of the nation’s oldest community foundations and is the 14th largest of more than 750 similar foundations across the United States. Its resources comprise endowment funds established by individuals, businesses, and organizations with a passion for charitable giving and a deep commitment to the Pittsburgh community. The Foundation currently has more than 2,200 individual donor funds and, together with its supporting organizations, assets of $1.2 billion.
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