Bending Genre

What the two editors have done here is to bring together a collection of essays on the art of creative non-fiction.

The definition of creative non-fiction they use as a starting point is: Fact based writing that uses the techniques of fiction to bring its stories to life. They also quote Lee Gutkind as saying: ‘The primary goal of the creative non-fiction writer is to communicate information, just like a reporter, but to shape it in a way that reads like fiction.’ That is certainly a challenge for non-fiction writers, but is one that can bring a new dimension to their work. Whilst it is not a new concept, there have been very few books on the subject, and this one works as an anthology of pieces by people with interesting views on the subject. All of them are published writers, and many of them are experienced writing tutors. What they have to say will start non-fiction writers thinking anew about their genre.