1. Beginning the Journey: An Overview 2. The Inside Story: A Look at the Magazine Industry 3. Selective Magazine Markets 4. The Big Idea 5. Sharpening the Angle 6. Pitch Perfect 7. Research: The Foundation of Good Storytelling 8. Structure: The Building Blocks of Good Storytelling 9. Structure II: The Mortar for Storytelling Blocks 10. Self Edit 11. Literary Non-Fiction: Storytelling at its Best 12. The Profile 13. Service 14. Arts & Entertainment 15. Sports 16. Travel 17. Essays 18. B2B: The Ultimate Service Journalism 19. Writing for the Web and Tablets 20. Legal and Ethical Considerations
Biography
Christopher D. Benson is Associate Professor of Journalism and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has written for Chicago, Savoy, Jet, and The Crisis magazines, and has contributed to The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and Reader’s Digest. He has worked as Features Editor and Washington Editor for Ebony magazine.
Charles F. Whitaker is Helen Gurley Brown Magazine Research Chair at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University. He was a senior editor at Ebony magazine and a reporter at the Miami Herald and the Louisville Times (Ky.), and he has written for the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago magazine, Jet magazine, Essence magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Saturday Evening Post, Chicago Parent magazine, and Folio.
"If a student wants to read his or her textbook, then a lot of my job as a professor is already done. I am so excited about Magazine Writing by Benson and Whitaker. This is one of the best ‘working’ feature writing books that I’ve seen."
—Nancy Pace-Miller, Evangel University"I’ve read dozens of books and guides about magazine writing, but Benson’s and Whitaker’s Magazine Writing is by far the most engaging and comprehensive. Besides providing excellent instruction on the craft of writing for magazines, this book includes great advice for succeeding in the business. Benson and Whitaker take the budding writer beyond just grocery-shelf magazines, as well, and into the often ignored realms of trade publications and online publications."
—Pax S. Rasmussen, The University of Utah
