The best journalism of 2020: Covering the pandemic

A year has passed since the novel coronavirus first emerged. Even with mass inoculation efforts underway, it continues to rage on, with little sign of abating.  Throughout this year, we’ve relied on journalism to make sense of it all—especially as the virus’s spread frequently outpaced our abilities to comprehend and respond to it. Below, CJR has compiled some of the year’s most illuminating, hard-hitting, and enduring coverage of the pandemic.   Looking ahead The Coronavirus in America: The Year Ahead  By Donald G. McNeil, Jr. From the early days of the outbreak, McNeil Jr.’s prescient stories for The New York Times demystified and narrativized a virus that, to this day, continues to evade grasp. In a time of frenetic news cycles, such clear and careful writing served as a much-needed antidote to protracted uncertainty. (McNeil, Jr.’s recent story, about the toll covid-19 may yet take even as vaccinations and an administration change draw near, is another sobering account of what lies ahead of us.)   How the Pandemic Defeated America  By Ed Yong Another marquee reporter on the science beat, Yong, of The Atlantic, wrote prodigiously about the pandemic. Among his anthology of indispensable works, this unsparing account of America’s abject failure to meet the coronavirus when it arrived at its shores stands out. One sentence—comprising 212 words, punctuated by 7 semicolons, and beginning with “No one should be shocked…”—must be the most incisive of the year.    Putting... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-12-15 13:02:41 UTC ]
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Other news stories related to: "The best journalism of 2020: Covering the pandemic"


Big Names in Little Magazines: On Thomas Pynchon’s Very First Literary Journal Appearance

“Thomas Pynchon is a young writer, just twenty, who has previously published fiction in Epoch. He is a Cornell graduate and now lives in Seattle.” Writers know that the time between when a piece is accepted by a literary magazine and when it is actually published can be rather protracted—my... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-21 09:53:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary magazine #young writer #thomas pynchon #big names


You’re Deciding the Best Book Cover of 2022

Tis the season for some literary pageantry and Electric Literature is hosting our third annual “Best Book Cover of the Year” tournament. You, our beloved readers, will decide a winner amidst a sea of book covers that published in 2022 via an interactive poll on our Twitter and Instagram... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-12-20 12:00:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book cover #interactive poll #book covers #year tournament #electric literature


The Pantone Color of the Year 2023, Book Cover Edition

Pantone's Color of the Year for 2023 is Viva Magenta, and we've got a roundup of books fit for celebrating the new color. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-12-16 11:38:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book cover


The 103 Best Book Covers of 2022

For what is now the seventh time in a row, I am pleased to present the best book covers of the year—as chosen by some of the industry’s best book cover designers. This year, I asked 31 designers to share their favorite covers of the year, and they came back with a grand total of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-13 09:55:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book cover #grand total #favorite covers #book covers


Wall Street Journal Names Emma Tucker as New Editor

News Corp said that Emma Tucker, a longtime editor in London, would replace Matt Murray, who has led the news organization for four years. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-12-12 22:10:23 UTC ]
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Springer Nature Acquires Medical Journal ‘Cureus’

Springer Nature leadership talks of creating 'a dynamic, open repository of medical knowledge' with its Cureus acquisition. The post Springer Nature Acquires Medical Journal ‘Cureus’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-12-07 17:04:53 UTC ]
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New Report Finds NYC Publishing, Bookselling Jobs Fell Between 2010 and 2020

In a report designed to measure the economic impact of NYC's various publishing segments, the first-of-its-kind study found that the number of book publishing jobs dipped 1.7% between 2010 and 2020, while bookselling jobs tumbled 37.1%. The average book publishing salary was $119,000, compared... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-12-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book publishing #economic impact


Beneath Its Pink Cover, ‘Lessons in Chemistry’ Offers a Story About Power

The best-selling debut author Bonnie Garmus created Elizabeth Zott, a chemist battling a sexist 1950s establishment, as the role model she craved — and found that readers wanted the same. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-11-16 14:07:21 UTC ]
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How Stoicism Guided Me Through Opening a Small Town Bookstore in the Midst of the Pandemic

There was more than one moment in the depths of the pandemic that the decision to open a small town bookstore seemed like the absolute worst idea in the world—a monument to arrogance and self-indulgence. At first we couldn’t open. Then we didn’t feel right opening. Then a freak storm (and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-07 09:54:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bookstore


What I Write in My Journal is Just for Me (It is Not My Memoir)

I wrote in my journal this morning. I am not going to disclose its contents to you here, on this page, on Beyoncé’s internet. What I write in my journal, its unfiltered stream of consciousness, is just for me. A memoir is not a journal. * Also this morning: I wrote up to the very […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-28 08:57:23 UTC ]
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The Nine Lives of a Cat (Book Cover)

While others sweat the fate of their book cover, for me, it’s the part of the publishing process I look forward to most. I not only love contemplating book covers and exploring options, but as the former art director at a major publishing house, I have a unique appreciation for how important the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-26 08:53:11 UTC ]
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Cover reveal: Stephen Buoro’s The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa.

Literary Hub is pleased to reveal the cover for Stephen Buoro’s debut novel The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, which will be published by Bloomsbury in April 2023. Here’s how the publisher describes the novel: Andrew Aziza is a fifteen-year-old boy living in Kontagora in Northern... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-19 13:30:34 UTC ]
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“Eclectic, Refreshingly Wild, and Important.” Exploring the Archives of America’s Best Literary Journals

The 28th issue of Kayak—a literary magazine edited and published by George Hitchcock out of Santa Cruz, California—appeared in 1972. The issue includes mostly poetry, as well as a few book reviews, a work of verse fiction, collages, illustrations lifted from old books and manuals, and an acerbic... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-19 08:57:28 UTC ]
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J. Drew Lanham on Finding Refuge in His Backyard During the Pandemic Lockdown

Emergence Magazine is an online publication with annual print edition exploring the threads connecting ecology, culture, and spirituality. As we experience the desecration of our lands and waters, the extinguishing of species, and a loss of sacred connection to the Earth, we look to emerging... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-26 08:52:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #narrated essays #sacred connection #online publication #emergence magazine #pandemic lockdown #finding refuge #emerging stories


Frankfurt Aims for 70 Percent of Its Pre-Pandemic Size

In today's German and international news conferences, key elements of Frankfurt Book Fair were spotlighted by organizers. The post Frankfurt Aims for 70 Percent of Its Pre-Pandemic Size appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-09-08 20:35:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #frankfurt book fair #key elements #pre-pandemic size


Are we ready to poke fun at pandemic times? Christopher Buckley is.

Buckley’s “Has Anyone Seen My Toes?,” a novel about a screenwriter who’s gone off the rails, takes aim at pandemic-fueled neuroses. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-04 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #takes aim #pandemic times #christopher buckley


Schoolchildren’s pandemic struggles, made worse by U.S. policies

Alongside heartbreaking snapshots of kids' challenges as schools closed, Anya Kamenetz explains the systemic failures that made so many vulnerable. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-02 10:00:24 UTC ]
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The 11 Best Book Covers of August

Another month of books, another month of book covers. The hazy rainbow trend is back for August, in among a series of bold and mysterious cover treatments. Featuring a whole lot of red and some I-wish-this-was-a-poster standouts. Here are my favorite book covers of the month—as always, feel free... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-31 12:51:26 UTC ]
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Cambridge University Press Announces a Pakistan Studies Journal

The new Pakistan-focused journal is to survey colonialism, nationalism, gender representation, devotion,  popular culture, diaspora, and more. The post Cambridge University Press Announces a Pakistan Studies Journal appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-08-18 20:34:51 UTC ]
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The Actual American Dream Isn’t on the Magazine Covers

Sneha, the 22-year-old protagonist of Sarah Thankam Mathews’ debut novel All This Could Be Different, is the dutiful immigrant daughter. Despite the long recession, she bagged a corporate job right after college, and a free apartment in Brewers Hill, Milwaukee. She regularly sends money home to... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-08-11 11:00:00 UTC ]
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