• Cheryl Strayed: “Wild”, an excerpt of Cheryl’s New York Times bestselling memoir about the three month hiking trip that helped her put her life back together. The book was turned into an Oscar-nominated film, which you can see on October 13. Cheryl’s collection of quotes and advice, “Brave Enough”, will be translated into Romanian, at Publica, in time for the conference.
• Carson Ellis: “Home”, a New York Times bestseller, written and illustrated by Carson, in which she explores the idea of home. Watch the official trailer of the book and this video in which she describes her creative process.
• Jon Mooallem: This TED Talk on how the tales we tell about wild animals have real consequences for a species’ chance of survival — and the natural world at large. Jon is the author of “Wild Ones”, a book that investigates our contradictory relationship with nature, one of his most dominant writing themes. Try also this lovely piece about a tribe of intellectual wanderers obsessed with clouds.
• Caroline Paul: “Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure”, Caroline’s latest book, a collection of stories and ”derring-dos” that aim to instill bravery and resilience in young girls, illustrated by Wendy MacNaughton. You can also read this op-ed for the New York Times on teaching girls to be brave the same way we teach boys.
• Colin Meloy: “Wildwood Chronicles”, a New York Times bestselling trilogy of novels for middle-grade readers, illustrated by his wife, Carson Ellis. Colin wrote the books during a break from his world famous band The Decemberists, about which he talks in this interview. Here’s a playlist with some of our favourite The Decemberists songs, to get you in the mood for his musical speech:
• Wendy MacNaughton: This lovely video in which she talks us through her drawing process and journalistic approach to illustrated documentary. You can see more of her work on her website and at the conference you’ll be able to hold in your hands a Romanian version of “Gutsy Girl”, translated at Black Button Books.
• Brian Lindstrom: “Alien Boy”, a documentary that explores police accountability in the brutal death of a non-violent man with schizophrenia. You can watch it on October 13 at The Institute in an event organized by Frontline, followed by a discussion with Brian himself.
• Jacqui Banaszynski: AIDS in the Heartland, the Pulitzer winner series about the life and death of an AIDS victim in a rural farm community, recently republished online. In 2014 we interviewed Jacqui about the importance of listening for journalistic purposes as well as for bridging the gaps between people.
• Tara Skurtu: In this speech, Tara talks about how poetry uses language to describe something that can’t possibly be said in words. Read some of her poems here.
• Jonah Sachs: “Winning the Story Wars”, Jonah’s bestselling book on how to build iconic brands and causes in service of a better future, currently being translated into Romanian. In 2014, we talked to Jonah about stories as a branding tool and his advice for beginner storytellers.
• Dvora Meyers: Simone Biles’ Mental Gymnastics, a portrait of gymnastics phenomenon Simone Biles, possibly the one of tall times, who recently dominated the Olympic Games. Dvora’s book about women’s gymnastics, “The End of the Perfect 10”, was recently published in Romanian and will be launched in Romania on October 13.
• Tim Howard: Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, the audio story of a legal battle that has entangled a biological father, a heart-broken couple, and the tragic history of Native American children taken from their families. Tim is now Executive Producer at Reply All, so you can add the show on your podcast list.
• Cătălin Tolontan: This speech in which one of the most reputable sports and investigative journalists in Romania talks about the ethics of journalism and what he’s learned from the mistakes he made in his investigations over the years, which you can follow on his blog.
