1 Project. 100th Fellow. 1 Million Conversations.

Thank you for your support of the Logan Nonfiction Program. It is only through the generous contributions of supporters like you that we are able to ensure that nonfiction creators from across the globe are equipped with the resources they need to create critical works of journalism on the most pressing issues of the day, ensuring that deep reporting reaches millions, helping to build positive social change. 

 Here are some recent highlights from the program:

• The Fall 2019 cohort has arrived on campus. This talented group of nonfiction writers represent diverse backgrounds and through their work will bring voice to experiences and perspectives that are frequently marginalized from mainstream conversations. During their time as fellows, they are working on projects related to climate change, the global refugee crisis, the Mexican drug war and the hidden history of the NRA, among others.

• The Logan Nonfiction Program has on an on-going commitment to supporting journalists at risk through its residential fellowship. Press freedom is under attack across the globe and journalists’ safety is at risk. Physical threats, cyber bullying, psychological distress, censorship and widespread anti-press rhetoric plague journalists, preventing them from investigating and reporting the information critical to an engaged and informed citizenry. Each LNP cohort has spaces reserved for journalists who are in danger or have experienced extreme stress or trauma as a result of their reporting. To date we have supported six at risk journalists, and we have welcomed three more journalists at risk as part of the Fall 2019 cohort. 

• We have published an Impact Report, which demonstrates through quantitative and qualitative data the impact of the Logan Nonfiction Program has made in its first five years. It presents data around the program’s impact on individual fellows, in the field of journalism, on large institutions and governing bodies, as well as tracking media coverage of fellows’ work. The report also tracks demographic information, showing that in addition to a drastic uptick in the quantity and quality of applicants, they represent a wide range of ethnic, national, racial subject area and media diversity.

• Logan Nonfiction alums continue to receive accolades and prestigious awards for their work. Jackie Olive’s (2018) documentary “Always in Season,” which explores the lingering impact of more than a century of lynching African Americans connects this form of racial terrorism to racial violence today. “Always in Season” has been awarded the 2019 Sundance Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize for Moral Urgency, as well as receiving the Best Documentary Award at the Dallas, Omaha and Minneapolis Film Festivals. 

Thank you for your support of the Logan Nonfiction Program. Your investment has a lasting impact. Here are a few recent updates from the program. 

• Our application period for our Fall 2019 class of fellows closed on June 15. We received nearly 50 percent more applications compared to our previous selection period for Spring ’19. We are thrilled about the increasing number of competitiveness of the applications we’re receiving. The class will be decided in mid-August after a meeting with a selection committee that includes LNP leadership, advisory board members and alumni. We’re already planning our workshopping and events for the fall, which so far include Mark Bowden, Hamilton Boardman and Rafil Kroll-Zaidi.

• On April 11-12, 2019, the Logan Nonfiction Program organized and hosted “Evidence & Influence: Understanding the Impact of Nonprofit Journalism,” a gathering that brought 32 people representing 26 nonprofit news organizations to the Carey Institute in upstate New York. The long-term intention for this project was for “Evidence & Influence” to be an essential building block toward a shared understanding, language and metrics for impact in the nonprofit journalism sector—all of which will work toward boosting accountability journalism in the United States.

• The Logan Nonfiction Program launched a nonfiction club here at the Institute — open to all employees, board members, family, friends and the general public. We’ll be watching a documentary and reading a nonfiction book every other month.  Our first doc screening was Tuesday, June 25  in the Guggenheim auditorium at 6 pm. We watched “13^th” by Ava Duverny, which is also available for streaming on Netflix. The book selection is our own Shane Bauer’s “American Prison.” We’ll gather at the Helderberg Brewery taproom by Kuhar Farm on July 31 at 6:30 pm to discuss the film/book and drink some beers.

• We’re launching several new initiatives aimed at leveraging our alumni network, which has now grown to 129 journalists and documentary filmmakers since our inception in 2015. This summer we’ll be launching a newsletter for alumni, supporters and partners as well as quarterly meetups in New York.