Nonfiction Essays

African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of enslaved people narratives, African-American literature was dominated by autobiographical spiritual narratives. The genre known as slave narratives in the 19th century were accounts by people who had generally escaped from slavery, about their journeys to freedom and ways they claimed their lives.

This audiobook includes unabridged recordings of all George Orwell's greatest non-fiction: three full-length books, a collection of his most well-renowned essays and the complete collection of his poetry.

An essay that presents theories of time and healing.

“The essay has taught me how to live,” writes Jia Tolentino, this year’s Best American Essays guest editor. In a time of escalating authoritarianism and disinformation, we turn to artists and writers to make sense of the world around us. The twenty-one authors featured in this collection...

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A New York Times Bestseller A New York Magazine Best Book of the Year An Economist Best Book of the Year Pulitzer Prize–Winning Author of Gilead Marilynne Robinson has built a sterling reputation as a writer of sharp, subtly moving prose, not only...

A collection of the year’s best essays, selected by Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Wesley Morris and series editor Kim Dana Kupperman. “Imparting some piece of yourself—any part—is arduous and warrants some kind of commendation,” writes guest editor Wesley Morris in his introduction...

The #1 Sunday Times bestseller Named a best book of the year by Foreign Affairs, Financial Times, and Kirkus Reviews “One of the best books on politics our era will see . . . A book of astonishing literary quality.” —Matthew Parris, The TLS “[Rory Stewart] walked across Asia, served...

Encompassing themes of race, education, fame, law, and America’s past and future, these essays are James Alan McPherson at his most prescient and invaluable. Born in segregated 1940s Georgia, McPherson graduated from Harvard Law School only to give up law and become a writer. In 1978, he became the first Black author to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. But all the while, McPherson was also writing and publishing nonfiction that stand beside contemporaries such as James Baldwin and Joan Didion, as this collection amply proves.

Microdoses of the straight dope, stories so true they had to be wrapped in fiction for our own protection, from the best-selling author of But What if We're Wrong? A man flying first class discovers a puma in the lavatory. A new coach of a small-town Oklahoma high school football team installs...

A moving, eye-opening polemic about the US-Mexico border and what happens to the tens of thousands of unaccompanied Mexican and Central American children arriving in the US without papers ‘We are driving across Oklahoma in early June when we first hear about the waves of children arriving...

Books and Culture (1896) is a collection of reflective essays by American critic and editor Hamilton Wright Mabie, exploring why great literature endures and how reading shapes the inner life of the reader. Rather than treating books as sources of information, Mabie presents them as companions...

Dreamthorp is a collection of twelve reflective essays by the Scottish poet Alexander Smith, first published in 1863. Taking its name from the quiet, imaginary village where Smith claims to have retired to write, the book blends memoir, literary criticism, and philosophical musing in a leisurely...

We will teach you how to write creative nonfiction in seven easy steps. This guide is designed to provide you with all the tools you need in a concise, easy-to-understand format that will answer all your burning questions and get you on your way to successful nonfiction writing.

A collection of the year’s best essays, selected by award-winning writer Alexander Chee. Alexander Chee, an essayist of “virtuosity and power” (Washington Post), selects twenty essays out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year. Supplemental...

The collected creative nonfiction of a singular American writer, Jesmyn Ward, including widely shared classics, three never-before-published speeches, and an introductory essay. Respair (noun, obsolete), fresh hope after despair. From the two-time National Book Award winner and New York Times...

In How to Write an Excellent Personal Statement, Quincy Washington, an alumnus of the London School of Economics and the Founder of PlaceCoach—a trusted leader for university applications—guides you along each step of the writing process for your college admissions essay. You will benefit from insider knowledge and tips, as well as real-life examples from students’ personal statements and college admissions essays.

Compilation of Essays and Paragraphs for College and University Students is that rare English book that can actually help students to write coherently and logically about many topics and subjects. Compilation of Essays and Paragraphs for College and University Students has been put together and designed as a complete and a comprehensive book for helping young and adult learners in college to write and understand the structure of essays and paragraphs. This book is unique because every essay talks about something that is real in this life.

These 75 flash nonfiction pieces, written by internationally celebrated women authors and dazzlingly hilarious newcomers, are no flashes in the pan: They provide a feast of insights, generously garnished with wit, spice, and an exhilarating attention to craft. In Fast Funny Women, you'll find everything you want from thoughtful essays in a short, delicious form. Perfect for students of writing, writers of humor, and all fans who welcome laughter, insight, and perspective into their lives. 

Former Secretary of State, and first generation American, Colin Powell explains the importance of remaining an open and welcoming nation for NPR's This I Believe series. This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the...

While the ‘ nerdy white man’ stereotype of Autism dominates in media and popular culture, other Autistic people miss out on seeing themselves, their unique experiences, their hardships and their triumphs. In Someone Like Me, edited by Clem Bastow and Jo Case, twenty-five Autistic...