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2007 Conference Quotes

"The Mayborn Literary Non-Fiction Writers Conference is a singularly stimulating, informative, and welcoming event.  In the brief space of my visit, I attended sessions, participated in lively--at times quite  dramatic---exchanges, and became acquainted with some remarkable  people.  Not least, I have come away with a considerable reading list of books written by conference participants, who must be among the most talented writers in the 'creative non- fiction' world.  I felt that my own presentation was taken very seriously, greeted with intelligence and enthusiasm, and provoked excellent questions.  Though I have not seen the session on C-Span, I've been astounded by the number of people who have written to me saying that they'd seen it and found it a positive experience."
—Joyce Carol Oates, author and keynote speaker, 2007 Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference

"What Wimbledon is to the world of tennis, the Mayborn Writers Conference is to the world of narrative non-fiction. OK, George Getschow has swapped out the strawberries and pints of pale ale for Texas-style bar-b-que and beans, but the energy is the same, and so is theopportunity to rub elbows with the famous, the near-famous, and the soon-to-be famous. Where else will you find Joyce Carol Oates, floating through the crowd like a phantom, holding forth on Oprah and boxing; Burkhard Bilger, from the New Yorker, and Mary Roach, fresh from the morgue, swapping increasingly outlandish tales; Outside Magazine’s Kevin Fedarko and Hampton Sides, dazzling a cluster of co-eds with their wit and rugged good looks; Nan Talese, sunglasses pushed up on her head like a tiara, making pronouncements about the glitterati literary scene, as though she were in Easthampton, New York rather than Grapevine, Texas.

Where else will you find a gaggle of local writers, offering their polished expertise to the wannabes; and the wannabes and students--unapologetic for leaving their spouses, sniveling kids, and cats and dogs behind for a few days--basking in the glow of pure literary delight. The Mayborn Conference is a great place to hear great speeches about writing and the writer’s world--but more than that, it’s three days of celebration and downright good fun."
—Erik Calonius, author The Wanderer: The Last American Slave Ship and the Conspiracy that Set its Sails

"Being asked to participate in the Mayborn Conference was flattering; being there and seeing its great value to non-fiction writers was a genuinely rewarding experience. The generous give-and-take of lecturers and attendees alike elevated it far above any event I’ve ever been involved with. For my money, your conference has become the go-to affair for the serious-minded non-fiction writer."
—Carlton Stowers , veteran crime writer

"If a meteorite as big as a washing machine dropped from the sky on July 28  and landed on the Dallas-Fort Worth Hilton,  it would have devastated literary nonfiction the way that plane crash with Buddy Holly and Richie Valens devastated rock and roll. There was so much talent on hand that weekend that even the old pros were sitting in the audience taking notes on each other’s talks. This is just plain the best nonfiction writing conference I’ve ever been to.  It’s small enough and friendly enough that everyone gets to spend face time with whomever they want to, and it’s big enough that all the  subgenres are covered:  memoir, crime, sports, science. Mayborn rules!
—Mary Roach, Readers Digest columnist and author of "Stiff" and "Spook."

"The Mayborn is flat-out great. George Getschow has put together a conference that is fast becoming the must-attend event of the year for writers of nonfiction on any level, but especially for those who passionately love what they do, hear the music in it and believe it makes a difference in the national conversation. The give-and-take that occurs across a glass of wine or shot of bourbon after the sessions wrap up each day is as sophisticated, instructive and inspiring as those that take place across a podium during the day. To hear Sports Illustrated's Bill Nack recite entire the "Love Song for J. Alfred Prufrock" after knocking back a shot of Kentucky's finest is, alone, worth the price of admission. To hear the ethereal Joyce Carol Oates talk about interviewing Mike Tyson as part of a personal quest to understand her late father by writing a book about boxing is simply priceless."
— Robert L. Kaiser, Former Assistant Managing Editor/Sunday and Writing Coach, San Antonio Express-News

"The value of the day I spent there was hearing the invigorating stories about journalism at its highest form. Bill Nack told a story about rushing in to cover an accident at a horse track and being asked by a security guard what he was doing there. His response: "I represent the people of the United States!"

That was a refreshing reminder of what we are here to do.

The fact that the Mayborn presenters were talking about stories that have permanence -- stories that take weeks or months to report and shape and revise, but then have staying power long beyond the day's headlines -- reminded me why it's important to fight to keep such craftsmanship alive in the newspaper."
—Mike Merschel, Book editor, The Dallas Morning News

"The Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Writers Conference reveals this: There are as many attitudes about the craft of writing as there are writers.
          
Bill Nack, a former Sports Illustrated reporter who writes books, says he never outlines his magazine stories before he starts writing. And he usually starts 24 hours before dIn his mad dash, Mr. Nack lets one sentence lead to another. Writing, he says, can be a "happy accident." He claims that he never does any rewriting, and he fights any suggested changes. "Editors," he says, "are occasionally useful."

Kevin Fedarko believes that you have to write your way into the problem, not out of it. Fedarko writes adventure travel stories for Outside and other magazines. In adventure travel, you have to put yourself in situations that can become weird and chaotic.

"It’s the point when things go wrong, when the wheels come off, when expectations are thwarted, when failure enters the mix – that’s when things become interesting," he says. And so the reporter needs to be ready to confront failure and misery. Who, after all, wants to read about someone’s uneventful climb up a mountain?

Carlton Stowers writes "true crime" books. But "it’s not the perpetrator who’s the main character," he says. "Going into the mind of a serial killer? What crap. What interests me is the effect of the crime." He likens his work to watching a stone thrown into a pond, and describing the ripple effect. "That one insane event takes in more and more people," he says. Stowers is mindful of the impact his book can have on the victims’ loved ones. He remains in touch with many of them even after the project is finished. "Their story is not over when the book is published," he says. "Their lives go on."

Cecilia Balli, a contributing writer with Texas Monthly and Harper’s Magazine, encourages reporters to find the "emotional heart" of the story. That means understanding and interpreting the important emotions that run through a story – and evoking those emotions for the reader. But that means the writer has to feel some of those emotions herself. "Witnessing is one of the most important things we do," Balli says. "We watch and carry these things with us. We can’t just pass it on – we have to process it. We have to help the reader feel wiser, by making meaning out of the emotional experience."
—Tom Huang, Sunday editor, The Dallas Morning News