Ask the Editor With Hattie Fletcher, Managing Editor of Creative Nonfiction Magazine

Q & A with Hattie Fletcher

Today I sat down with Hattie Fletcher and we had a delightful chat about her magazine, Creative Nonfiction. It was really interesting to hear Hattie describe her editorial work and what goes into curating each issue of the magazine.

We talked about everything from lightning-shaped essays to hermit-crab essays to the joys and agonies of reading submissions for a recent sex-themed issue. We also discussed the origins of the genre, which Hattie traced back to Montaigne as well as more recent writers of New Journalism in the 70s, which I found particularly fascinating.

What would these editors like to see more of? How do they choose what to publish? How much do they work with their writers? How do they decide on their theme issues? How can people get more involved in Creative Nonfiction Magazine and the foundation’s many wonderful programs?

It’s all here, in my chat with Hattie! Thanks so much to all who participated, and a big thank you to Hattie for taking the time to speak with me.

About Creative Nonfiction Magazine

Creative Nonfiction magazine is true stories, well told. Each issue demonstrates the depth and versatility of narrative nonfiction and proves that smart, engaging narratives can make any subject fascinating and meaningful. Recent issues have tackled themes ranging from moments of clarity to memoir, from games to sex.

Creative Nonfiction is the 2018 winner of the AWP Small Press Publisher award, which acknowledges hard work, creativity, and innovation, and honors a magazine's contributions to the literary landscape through their publication of consistently excellent work. Essays originally published in Creative Nonfiction have been awarded the Pushcart Prize and have been featured in Best American Essays, Best American Travel Writing, Best Women's Travel Writing, and other collections.

Creative Nonfiction is fuel for nonfiction writers and storytellers, providing a lively blend of exceptional long- and short-form nonfiction narratives and interviews as well as columns that examine the craft, style, trends, and ethics of writing true stories.

Creative Nonfiction has consistently featured prominent authors from the United States and around the world and in its 24 years has helped launch the careers of some of the field's most exciting writers. Creative Nonfiction has a circulation of 10,000 and serves the whole spectrum of readers, from nonfiction and journalism enthusiasts to poetry and fiction writers, editors and agents.

Creative Nonfiction is printed in Pittsburgh, PA, by Broudy Printing, and is distributed in the United States by Ingram Periodicals, Media Solutions, and Small Changes.

Hattie Fletcher has been the managing editor of Creative Nonfiction magazine since 2005 and the editor of True Story magazine since 2016. Essays she has edited have been reprinted in The Best American Essays, The Best American Travel Writing, and The Best Women’s Travel Writing and have been awarded the Pushcart Prize. She has also worked on books covering such topics as end-of-life care, personalized medicine, education, mental health, and parenting. She was a coordinating editor for the Best Creative Nonfiction series, published by W.W. Norton, and is co-editor, with Lee Gutkind, of True Stories, Well Told … from the first 20 years of Creative Nonfiction magazine (In Fact Books, 2014).