{"id":16253,"date":"2025-10-17T13:07:58","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T13:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/?p=16253"},"modified":"2025-10-17T13:07:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T13:07:58","slug":"susan-orlean-tells-her-own-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/niemanstoryboard.org\/2025\/10\/17\/susan-orlean-tells-her-own-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Susan Orlean tells her own story"},"content":{"rendered":" \n
\n
\n \n

Sign up for the Nieman Storyboard newsletter,<\/em><\/a> delivered every Friday in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

***<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Dear Storyboard community:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

In Manjula Martin\u2019s deep-dive Nieman Storyboard annotation<\/a> of Susan Orlean\u2019s classic Esquire feature, \u201cThe American Man, Age Ten,\u201d<\/a> Orlean was asked how she managed to blend in with a swarm of young kids at a New Jersey pizzeria to report out her 1992 profile of an ordinary fifth-grader named Colin Duffy.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

\u201cI\u2019m lucky to be small enough to escape too much notice,\u201d she said, \u201cand I’ve mastered the art of invisibility when I need to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Orlean, a 2004 Nieman Fellow and longtime New Yorker staff writer, is embracing a higher level of visibility this week with the publication of her first memoir, \u201cJoyride.\u201d<\/a> She writes in the opening chapter:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n
\n \n

I noted recently that it has been twenty-five years since I published \u201cThe Orchid Thief,\u201d<\/a> and that unit of time, the quarter-of-a-century monumentality of it, stirred me to think about where I\u2019ve been and where I\u2019m going, and what I\u2019ve seen and learned along the way. I\u2019ve always dreaded the idea of writing a memoir. I\u2019m used to looking outward, not inward; I yearn to bring attention to hidden worlds, not to my own. I\u2019m proud of my work, and I want the widest readership I can muster, but I hate vanity. I\u2019m used to convincing my subjects that their quiet lives are shimmering and gorgeous and worth talking about, but it\u2019s been harder to convince myself of that about my own. Yet here I am. This is my story; please listen.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Orlean\u2019s story of the 10-year-old boy was the kind of assignment freelance journalists dream of: no news peg, no celebrities, and no limits on following her curiosity. Throughout her career, she’s been encouraged by editors to seek out the \u201csmall\u201d stories but, as she tells New York magazine<\/a>, \u201cI don\u2019t think smallness is in itself a virtue. Writers have to figure out how to make a small story seem urgent. They have to sell it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

***<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

What is the role of small stories in this urgent moment? It might feel extravagant or even distracting to spend any time on stories that eschew the news cycle. This week at Storyboard, journalist Kate Sosin talks to contributor Carly Stern<\/a> about covering LGBTQ+ issues for nonprofit news outlet The 19th<\/a>. Sosin said that covering a mix of subject matter is critical to ensure that both readers and journalists do not burn out. As Sosin shares:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n
\n \n

The only news that\u2019s written for trans people is so devastating that if you just read trans news, you would not want to exist in the world after reading it. As a trans person, I have to write news that makes me want to get up in the morning. So I need to find a way to tell stories that are more constructive than just, \u201cHere’s another thing that has been taken away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n \n

\n
\n \n

But I also just don’t feel that way about what’s happening in the world. Our present moment is in a backlash because there’s been so much progress made. I have a responsibility to communicate that what is happening is the result of incredible progress. We have to be responsible about it and not just information dump. I’m not looking for a silver lining as much as I am looking for an honest balance.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Sosin tells Storyboard about their journey to covering LGBTQ+ stories, and their recommendations to other journalists for how to thoughtfully cover trans issues.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Journalist Kate Sosin on covering trans issues in the age of Trump 2.0<\/a><\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\"Kate<\/a>
Kate Sosin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div> \n
\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

\u201cDon’t follow the news or be responsive to it. Create the news.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

[ Read the story<\/a> ]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n

\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n

Links of note<\/h2>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\"\"<\/a>
Mario Guevara in detention. Photo courtesy The Bitter Southerner Magazine<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div> \n
\n
\n \n\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n \n