Creative Nonfiction (magazine)


Creative Nonfiction is a literary magazine based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The journal was founded by Lee Gutkind in 1993, making it the first literary magazine to publish, exclusively and on a regular basis, high quality nonfiction prose. In Spring 2010, Creative Nonfiction evolved from journal to magazine format with the addition of new sections such as writer profiles and essays on the craft of writing, as well as updates on developments in the literary nonfiction scene. As of 2023, the magazine has ceased publication, with no information provided about when or if they will resume publication.
Work originally printed in Creative Nonfiction has been reprinted in The Best American Essays, The Best American Travel Writing in 2013, The Best Women's Travel Writing in 2013, and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. In 2014, Creative Nonfiction ranked 23 on the Pushcart Prize list of nonfiction literary magazines. Creative Nonfiction was a finalist for the 2014 AWP Small Press Publisher Award and a finalist in the "Best Writing" category for the Utne Independent Press Award in 2011.

Past contributors

The Creative Nonfiction Foundation

The Creative Nonfiction Foundation pursues educational and publishing initiatives in the genre of literary nonfiction. Its objectives are to provide a venue, the journal Creative Nonfiction, for high quality nonfiction prose ; to serve as the singular strongest voice of the genre, defining the ethics and parameters of the field; and to broaden the genre's impact in the literary arena by providing an array of educational services and publishing activities.
The Creative Nonfiction Foundation was incorporated in 1994 and is a private not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization supported by public and private funds contributed by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation, the Vira I. Heinz Endowment, and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, as well as by individual donors.

Educational programs

The Creative Nonfiction Foundation offers a number of educational programs for teachers, students, and emerging writers.

Mentoring programs

Creative Nonfiction's mentoring program pairs new writers with seasoned professionals such as Rebecca Skloot and Dinty W. Moore. The mentoring program's goal is to help new writers: 1) develop their technique and approach to creative nonfiction composition; 2) revise, edit and shape their manuscript; and 3) place their finished manuscript with a publisher.

Online courses

Creative Nonfiction provides online courses on basic techniques for research, interviewing, immersion, and reporting as well as instruction on writing personal essays.

Writers' conferences

CNF hosted the Mid-South Conference in Oxford, Mississippi, in February 2008, and 412: The Pittsburgh Creative Nonfiction Literary Festival in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008. In the spring of 2013, Creative Nonfiction hosted The Best of Creative Nonfiction Conference at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Arts Education Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Creative Nonfiction also hosts an annual Creative Nonfiction Writers' Conference, dedicated to the art, craft, and power of true stories, each May.

Writing institutes

Creative Nonfiction holds institutes throughout the year in a variety of locations and offers programs for writers at all levels of experience. Instructors include Lee Gutkind and other well-known writers, teachers, and editors. The institutes often cover a range of themes, from the basics of the creative nonfiction genre to writing memoir to travel narrative. Courses also attempt to emphasize the ethics and guidelines of the genre.

Editorial advisory board

A number of prominent authors, educators and media figures are members of the Foundation's Editorial Advisory Board, whose task is to help the Editorial Board sustain and guide the editorial mission of the magazine.