Five women who are leading scientists and published authors will talk about how they turn knowledge into compelling narrative during a series of five free local lectures.
After the series ends, the local Creative Nonfiction Foundation will host a free, six-week writing workshop with space for 12 fellows. In the workshop, writers will explore ways to craft an engaging narrative of a science-focused story for a general audience. Writers accepted into the workshop will focus on developing one story to present at a graduation reading when the workshop ends in May.
The talks by the five scientists, presented in March and April by the Creative Nonfiction Foundation, are funded by a $70,698 grant from the Pittsburgh Foundation.
Here are the speakers:
Dr. Azra Raza,
is a physician and author of “The First Cell: And the Human Costs of Pursuing Cancer to the Last.” An internationally known authority on pre-leukemia, she is professor of medicine at Columbia University in New York. Dr. Raza speaks at 7 p.m. on March 12 in the Ace Hotel Ballroom, 120 S. Whitfield St., East Liberty.
Amanda Little
is the author of “The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World.” She is a professor of investigative journalism and science writing at Vanderbilt University. Ms. Little speaks at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 22 at the Trust Arts Center, 805 Liberty Ave., Downtown.
Dawn Raffel
is the author of “The Strange Case of Dr. Couney: How a Mysterious European Showman Saved Thousands of American Babies.” NPR named it one of the best books of 2018. Ms. Raffel speaks at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, in The Beauty Shoppe, a co-working space at 3700 Butler St., Lawrenceville.
Dr. Danielle Ofri, a physician, is the author of “When We Do Harm: A Doctor Confronts Medical Error,” her seventh book. Dr. Ofri is professor of medicine at New York University. Her essays have appeared in such anthologies as Best American Essays and Best American Science Writing. Dr. Ofri speaks at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 2 at the Carnegie Free Library, 300 Beechwood Ave., Carnegie.
Ruth Kassinger is the author of “Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plague Us, and Just Might Save Us.” Crude oil is made of dead algae, and algae are the ancestors of all plants. Today, algae is big business, from seaweed snacks to biofuels to plastics. Ms. Kassinger, who has written books for adults and children, speaks at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 16 in Botany Hall at Phipps Conservatory, 1 Schenley Drive, Oakland.
The day after each talk, each speaker will answer questions about the art, business and craft of writing narrative science. These sessions will be held at 10 a.m. at The Beauty Shoppe, a co-working space at 3700 Butler St., Lawrenceville. For dates, visit https://www.creativenonfiction.org/science-story.
If you wish to attend the Q&A sessions in person, please register in advance because seating is limited. These sessions also will be streamed live but to watch them, you must register with Creative Nonfiction Foundation.
The deadline to to apply for the six-week writing workshop is March 8. Fellows will be announced on March 30.
All writing workshops will be held between April 22 and May 27 at Creative Nonfiction’s workshop space at 607 College St., Shadyside.
Marylynne PItz at mpitz@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1648 or on Twitter:@mpitzpg
First Published: March 5, 2020, 12:32 p.m.
