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The Long Lede Anthology: Stories that want to be told
Passion pieces from the next generation of Australian longform journalists. Ten Australian writers, mentored by ten experienced Australian journalists developed stories that they new needed to be shared. Claire Keenan mentored by Amanda Hooton from GW, explores Catholicism in rural Australia, sexual abuse and why she is no longer a Catholic. Dan Jervis-Bardy mentored by legendary Michael Brissenden from the ABC, looks at the death of the Sudanese child refugee Safa Annour and challenges the resources dispersed when a child who dies is not white. Margaret Simons guided Esther Linder through the world of food supply chains in Australia and how tenuous they are, particularly with the increasing impacts of climate change. Iranian medical doctor Hessom Razavi, under direction from Victoria Laurie explores Australia’ s response to the global refugee crisis. Trans masculine Indigenous writer and powerlifter Arlie Alizzi, supported by Paddy Manning lifts the lid on mentorship and sexual harassment in powerlifting. Former lab scientist and now science journalist Jackson W Ryan, mentored by Richard Cooke, details the cover ups in the science laboratories at UNSW in the hunt for a ‘ miracle cure’ cancer drug. Matthew Drummond assisted Liz Gooch as she explored whether Afghanistan will be permitted to send a team to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Environment journalist Penelope Craswell, guided by Ceridwen Dovey started out exploring environmental pollution focusing on the design of objects and ended up writing about the power, meaning and value of cups. Trans masculine writer and broadcaster Sam Elkin, particularly known for his work in sport, supported by Nick Feik, challenges colonial Australian history with his portrait of Edward de Lacy Evans who was assigned female at birth but lived life as a man on the Goldfields of Victoria, and elsewhere. With direction from Maddison Connaughton, ABC cadet Wing Kuang follows up on sexual consent education in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Oustanding stories you don't want to miss.
- GenresNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
Published May 9, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 22, 2024
[Disclosure: review copy for Tasmanian Times]
As hi-tech content-overload overwhelms our biologically ancient brains, reeling under the deluge of social media, print media and on-screen options, we skitter across even short articles like water-bugs on a pond.
We look for the bullet points or highlighted bits which summarise what we need to know, allowing us to ignore the rest and…[checks watch, impatient]…get on with our lives.
The thought of reading a whole article (300 words!), let alone an opinion piece stretching to 700-800 words (!!), has us calculating the minutiae of decision-making parameters for extra seconds we might consider investing in such a risky time-consuming (two minutes!) activity.
So this book, Stories That Want to be Told – The Long Lede Anthology, published by Penguin, with backing from Copyright Agency and Judith Neilson Institute– is definitely kicking against the pricks. Who’d read a few thousand words of long-form journalism that digs deeper, that provides real insight, that gives us intimate access to people we might never otherwise meet and know in this way?
tl;dr amirite?
Well, maybe not. These pieces are written by pros. They hook you (the ‘lede’ or opening paragraphs), hold you, take you places, and share world-views you’ve never considered. If novelty isn’t the reason most of us read our fiction, then you’re simply reading different forms of the same thing over and over. Maybe it’s worth putting aside your genre fiction and turning off the phone for some quiet time reading a long non-fiction article on, say, the unsolved murder of a Sudanese child refugee, or our terrifyingly tenuous supply chains, or trans-power lifters, or…[checks notes]…uh, cups. How the hell could ‘cups’ (yes, the cups you drink tea and coffee out of) provoke worthwhile journalism? Why would anyone bother?
Journalism in the long-form tends to honesty, exposes the writer, and provides context and nuance to topics, which, if listed, you’d probably normally avoid. But that’s the thing with life – every boring face you glimpse and glance away from on the train, in the street, at your desk or out the window, has a story that will surprise you, but only if you hang in there and ask the right questions.
Stories That Want to be Told gives passionate, thoughtful and hard-working journalists and writers the means to do what they’re supposed to do – go out from the comfortable normality of the tribe, hunt and gather, and bring back that which they seek or find to show the rest of us.
There has to be a struggle to this hunting and gathering. Journalism isn’t sitting around telling us that someone says it’s sunny but someone else says it’s raining; it’s actually going outside, raincoat at the ready, to check. We don’t need more pseudo-journalism, we’re already drowning in stenography; the false balance of ‘he-said, she-said’ which fill our news media. We desperately need real journalism as a critical part of our democracy and our lives.
Put down the Murdoch trash, stop watching the Sky After Dark freak show, ignore Insta. Pick up a copy of The Long Lede Anthology, and park yourself in a quiet corner with a cuppa instead. The nine writers represented in this anthology will take you places you’ve never been before. That, surely, has to be worth it.
As hi-tech content-overload overwhelms our biologically ancient brains, reeling under the deluge of social media, print media and on-screen options, we skitter across even short articles like water-bugs on a pond.
We look for the bullet points or highlighted bits which summarise what we need to know, allowing us to ignore the rest and…[checks watch, impatient]…get on with our lives.
The thought of reading a whole article (300 words!), let alone an opinion piece stretching to 700-800 words (!!), has us calculating the minutiae of decision-making parameters for extra seconds we might consider investing in such a risky time-consuming (two minutes!) activity.
So this book, Stories That Want to be Told – The Long Lede Anthology, published by Penguin, with backing from Copyright Agency and Judith Neilson Institute– is definitely kicking against the pricks. Who’d read a few thousand words of long-form journalism that digs deeper, that provides real insight, that gives us intimate access to people we might never otherwise meet and know in this way?
tl;dr amirite?
Well, maybe not. These pieces are written by pros. They hook you (the ‘lede’ or opening paragraphs), hold you, take you places, and share world-views you’ve never considered. If novelty isn’t the reason most of us read our fiction, then you’re simply reading different forms of the same thing over and over. Maybe it’s worth putting aside your genre fiction and turning off the phone for some quiet time reading a long non-fiction article on, say, the unsolved murder of a Sudanese child refugee, or our terrifyingly tenuous supply chains, or trans-power lifters, or…[checks notes]…uh, cups. How the hell could ‘cups’ (yes, the cups you drink tea and coffee out of) provoke worthwhile journalism? Why would anyone bother?
Journalism in the long-form tends to honesty, exposes the writer, and provides context and nuance to topics, which, if listed, you’d probably normally avoid. But that’s the thing with life – every boring face you glimpse and glance away from on the train, in the street, at your desk or out the window, has a story that will surprise you, but only if you hang in there and ask the right questions.
Stories That Want to be Told gives passionate, thoughtful and hard-working journalists and writers the means to do what they’re supposed to do – go out from the comfortable normality of the tribe, hunt and gather, and bring back that which they seek or find to show the rest of us.
There has to be a struggle to this hunting and gathering. Journalism isn’t sitting around telling us that someone says it’s sunny but someone else says it’s raining; it’s actually going outside, raincoat at the ready, to check. We don’t need more pseudo-journalism, we’re already drowning in stenography; the false balance of ‘he-said, she-said’ which fill our news media. We desperately need real journalism as a critical part of our democracy and our lives.
Put down the Murdoch trash, stop watching the Sky After Dark freak show, ignore Insta. Pick up a copy of The Long Lede Anthology, and park yourself in a quiet corner with a cuppa instead. The nine writers represented in this anthology will take you places you’ve never been before. That, surely, has to be worth it.
November 14, 2023
With thanks to ‘Books+Publishing’ magazine for the ARC and the opportunity to review.
The Long Lede Initiative, a partnership between the Judith Neilson Institute, Penguin Random House, and Copyright Agency, pairs experienced Australian journalists with emerging writers to mentor them in crafting impactful pieces.
In The Long Lede Anthology: Stories that want to be told, each mentor introduces their mentee’s essay and gives context to the topic as the writers tackle compelling and wide-ranging issues. The nine contributing journalists are Arlie Alizzi (on mentorship and sexual harassment in powerlifting), Penny Craswell (on the power, meaning and value of cups), Sam Elkin (on the life of Edward de Lacy Evans), Liz Gooch (on Afghanistan and the 2024 Paris Olympics), Dan Jervis-Bardy (on the death of Sudanese child refugee Safa Annour), Claire Keenan (on lapsed Catholicism), Wing Kuang (on consent education in culturally and linguistically diverse communities), Esther Linder (on Australian food supply chains), and Hessom Razavi (on Australia’s response to the global refugee crisis).
I was particularly transfixed by Linder’s story about Australia’s flawed food supply network and genuinely moved by Jervis-Bardy’s ‘What happened to Safa Annour?’
The Long Lede Anthology is great for dipping in and out of; with various writing styles, each piece is thoroughly researched and uses accessible, almost conversational language, making complex issues easier to understand. This anthology is a timely companion to Leigh Sales’ Storytellers and proves that well-written and researched articles are still relevant—and powerful conversation starters.
The Long Lede Initiative, a partnership between the Judith Neilson Institute, Penguin Random House, and Copyright Agency, pairs experienced Australian journalists with emerging writers to mentor them in crafting impactful pieces.
In The Long Lede Anthology: Stories that want to be told, each mentor introduces their mentee’s essay and gives context to the topic as the writers tackle compelling and wide-ranging issues. The nine contributing journalists are Arlie Alizzi (on mentorship and sexual harassment in powerlifting), Penny Craswell (on the power, meaning and value of cups), Sam Elkin (on the life of Edward de Lacy Evans), Liz Gooch (on Afghanistan and the 2024 Paris Olympics), Dan Jervis-Bardy (on the death of Sudanese child refugee Safa Annour), Claire Keenan (on lapsed Catholicism), Wing Kuang (on consent education in culturally and linguistically diverse communities), Esther Linder (on Australian food supply chains), and Hessom Razavi (on Australia’s response to the global refugee crisis).
I was particularly transfixed by Linder’s story about Australia’s flawed food supply network and genuinely moved by Jervis-Bardy’s ‘What happened to Safa Annour?’
The Long Lede Anthology is great for dipping in and out of; with various writing styles, each piece is thoroughly researched and uses accessible, almost conversational language, making complex issues easier to understand. This anthology is a timely companion to Leigh Sales’ Storytellers and proves that well-written and researched articles are still relevant—and powerful conversation starters.
February 4, 2024
absolutely loved this - such important journalism within these pages, and such a promising look into the future of the industry. the standouts for me were the pieces by claire keenan, esther linder and dan jervis-bardy
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews