From: Julie Cummins <jcummins>
Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 14:10:01 -0500

I feel the urge to jump into this discussion and offer a personal incident that I think is affecting quality nonfiction - creative and narrative. Last year my first biography for children was published, Tomboy of the Air, and bitten by the biography bug, I submitted a proposal to a publisher for a short, children's biography of an unknown individual, but a very colorful character, to be illustrated with photographs. The proposal was turned down but more disturbing to me was the response from the head of the house that quality nonfiction doesn't sell unless it has a strong curriculum connection and why didn't I turn it into fiction?

That indicates to me that the market, schools and bookstores, is casting a shadow over creative nonfiction that encourages authors to be inventive with nonfiction writing, creating dialogue, and utilizing a narrative structure to make "story." I think back to the days of the Landmark books which I read as a child and years later, as a professional, watched with great interest the controversy over invented dialogue.

Which brings me to the point, where does creative nonfiction cross the line and become creative fiction built out of real times, places, and events?

Julie Cummins
Received on Tue 02 Apr 2002 01:10:01 PM CST