You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: A Journalist’s Approach to Writing Creative Nonfiction
In this talk, author Annette McGivney will share her four decades of experience as a journalist writing investigative magazine articles and nonfiction books. Participants will learn techniques for conducting in-depth research, journalistic interviews and turning factual material into writing that reads like a novel with narrative descriptions, character development, and an engaging story structure.
Annette McGivney is an investigative journalist and the author of five nonfiction books. Annette’s most recent book, Pure Land, about the murder of Tomomi Hanamure in the Grand Canyon, won the National Outdoor Book Award in 2018. Pure Land was the debut selection for Outside magazine’s book club in 2017 and named by the magazine on a list of “outdoor books that shaped the last decade.” Her forthcoming book, Plastic Shaman, a true crime story about the wellness industry’s appropriation of Native American culture, will be published by Torrey House Press in 2026. Annette is also a frequent contributor to the Guardian, Outside and Arizona Highways. She is a professor emeritus in Journalism at Northern Arizona University and lives in Cortez, Colorado.
As always, all genres and experience levels are welcome and admission is free. If you can, show up early to purchase a snack or beverage (or a book!) in support of our generous hosts at ZU Gallery!