This year’s Mayborn Conference speakers will inform, inspire and invigorate.
Our theme for 2021? “To Your Health: Healing the Nation, Healing the News, Healing Yourself.
We’ll explore how journalism and storytelling have impacted (and been impacted by) the many events unfolding over the past year – healthcare, trust and news, mental health, social justice, and how the times have affected us all. We plan to go beyond the headlines, allowing some of the nation’s best journalists and authors to share the story behind the stories.
We know it’s been a year of outstanding investigative journalism, powerful breaking news narratives and heart wrenching personal narratives that capture a world under siege by the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken its toll on so many aspects of life.
Register now to join us October 15 & 16 – all for only $99.
Names you know. Voices that matter.
For a behind-the-scenes look at journalism at the highest levels in Washington, check out CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett.
For a deep dive on covering the health crisis in America, check out Emmy Award-winning journalist, medical doctor and author Dr. Seema Yasmin – interviewed by anchor Kristi Nelson from KXAS/NBC 5 News.
For an up-close look at racial unrest across the country, join us for authors Curtis Bunn, Nick Charles, Michael H. Cottman, Patrice Gaines and Keith Harriston as they explore the forces that pushed an unjust system to its breaking point after the death of George Floyd.
For the inside scoop on the pressures of mental health in today’s newsrooms, visit with moderator Alana Rocha and reporters Elvia Limón, Olivia Messer and Alex Samuel from the Texas Tribune and elsewhere.
For a candid view of how Americans demonstrate “Crisis, Courage and Resilience” during the past months, hear from award-winning Washington Post journalist Eli Saslow as he discusses his new book, “Voices from the Pandemic.” He’ll be joined by Mayborn School journalists Megan Martinez, Rebecca Najera and Kate Pezzuli, whose “Corona Chronicles” captures many other stories and voices as well.
For a candid and cutting view of how storytellers can use the power of journalism to restore across-the-aisle politics to help the nation heal, check out former Senator Connie Mack, who will discuss his memoir “Citizen Mack” with Krys Boyd of KERA’s Think program.
These speakers, and many others, will guide you through the epochal events of the past year and leave you informed and inspired by the power of storytelling in a time of great challenge.
Register now to join us October 15 & 16 – all for only $99.
As a throwback to the Mayborn Conference in pre-pandemic times, we’re planning to do the Friday evening portion of the event – “Stories from the Bubble: Reflections on a Year to Remember” with authors Sara Hepola, Kurt Eichenwald and others – in-person with our bookselling partners, Interabang Books in Dallas.
It’ll be a chance to network and bump elbows with fellow writers and fans of great storytelling in a safe, socially distanced way. Light refreshments will be provided.
The following day, Saturday, October 16, we’ll be on Zoom Webinar, so you can enjoy from the safety of your desk or couch, snug in your favorite comfy pants. We’ll wrap the day celebrating the winners of our annual Mayborn Writing Contests – Ten Spurs, Manuscript and our Best American Newspaper Narratives – emceed by host of KERA’s Morning Edition, Sam Baker.
We’ll have some fun and surprises along the way, so grab some snacks and settle in for a day that will invigorate and energize.
About the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference.
Now in its 17th year, the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference is where aspiring and established storytellers, reporters, photographers, and narrative non-fiction writers from all walks of life learn, engage and network with the nation's best authors journalists, editors, educators and agents through workshops, seminars and keynotes.