Society for Features Journalism

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What is a feature story? Join SFJ for free virtual event with 2023 Pulitzer winner Eli Saslow and judge Lane DeGregory

Pictured at left: Lane DeGregory (photo by Cherie Diez). Right: Eli Saslow (photo by Joanna Ceciliani)

Please join SFJ for a virtual discussion with 2023 Pulitzer Prize feature winner Eli Saslow and judge Lane DeGregory on Tuesday, June 27 at 2 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Central/11 a.m. Pacific.

The event will be held on Zoom.

Please save this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85484578433?pwd=SEdPTkhRZjNtUldadzRkSFc4SUxQUT09

Saslow, now at The New York Times, won the 2023 Pulitzer for feature writing with his series of narratives about people’s lives and struggles three years into the pandemic. At the time, he was a writer at The Washington Post. The judges wrote: "For evocative individual narratives about people struggling with the pandemic, homelessness, addiction and inequality that collectively form a sharply-observed portrait of contemporary America."

Links to his incredibly moving stories are below.

DeGregory, a longtime feature writer for the Tampa Bay Times, is the author of the new book “The Girl in the Window and Other True Tales: An Anthology With Tips for Finding, Reporting, and Writing Nonfiction Narratives." A 2009 Pulitzer winner, she was a judge this year, and will share insights into the behind-the-scenes debate about what a feature story is.

Together, they’ll discuss Saslow’s writing and take questions from viewers.

Saslow’s winning entries are here: 

"The moral calculations of a billionaire": A profile of lowkey rags-to-riches billionaire Leon Cooperman

"Anger and heartbreak on Bus No. 15": A profile of Denver bus driver Suna Karabay, who has watched the city change as she continues to drive.

"An American education": Desperate for teachers, one rural Arizona school hires teachers from the Philippines.

"Fixing the broken lovelies": Profile of a Seattle psychiatric nurse and the challenges she and her staff face at a nonprofit emergency services center.

Saslow also is the author of several books including "Voices from the Pandemic: Americans Tell Their Stories of Crisis, Courage and Resilience" and "Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist."

Please join us for this conversation!