Next Wave collects the work of today’s finest young writers—nineteen creative reporters whose work builds upon foundations laid by previous generations, dating back more than fifty years to John Hersey, Lillian Ross, Gay Talese, and Tom Wolfe. Although naysayers predicted the decline of quality long-form journalism with the rise of the Internet, Next Wave is evidence that the genre is thriving—aided by the very medium that was initially portrayed as the executioner.
See table of contents for selectees.
A “Hot New Release” on Amazon–#3.
Available in October as an eBook. Print on demand editions will be ready for Christmas.
Stories include: A poor man who discovers a $1 million bill. The tragedy of a beloved pet chimp run amok. The sad yet hopeful tale of a first-year teacher in an impoverished school. The Florida woman who died in her house—and nobody noticed. The confusing genetics of one of the world’s greatest athletes. Inside the Washington, DC, subway crash that took nine lives. The prosecutor, caught in a sting by Dateline’s “To Catch a Predator,” who takes his own life. A father and his autistic son, out for a swim, are swept out to sea. The son who secretly tried to destroy his father’s venerable worldwide reputation. A woman who legally abandons her child. An unthinkable crime in the vineyard that produces burgundy’s finest wine. The last days of a former star basketball player, chasing his demons through the jungles of Brazil. The horse-track veterinarian who ends the lives of beautiful creatures. The fortitude of a shrimp boat captain trying to maintain his family’s long tradition in a changing world. A reluctant high-school football player who died on the practice field; and the coach who may have driven him to it. A good woman who was quite possibly wrongly convicted of killing her adopted, troubled child. A wounded soldier who is given a new skull. And profiles of movie critic Roger Ebert and pop diva Britney Spears that offer rare and substantial glimpses behind the curtain of celebrity.
Next Wave is fascinating and beautiful reading for enthusiasts and students of vibrant, you-are-there, literary non-fiction. Each chapter includes a photo, a bio, a personal essay, and an outstanding magazine or newspaper story from a different up-and-coming writer. Compiled by two award-winning literary journalists/educators from the last generation, Next Wave is a celebration of today’s greatest writing and a roadmap for aspiring practitioners of tomorrow, a joyful reminder that literary journalism alive and well, and that artful craftsmanship will never go out of fashion.