New Stories We Tell is the third in a series of women-centric journalism text/anthologies created to celebrate the great women of American longform writing. New Stories features sixteen of the most talked-about contemporary magazine writers.Each chapter includes a landmark true story, a bio, and an interview with the writer. We learn about lives, careers, writing philosophies, tricks of the trade, and backstories. Taken together, the assembled articles--republished from both legacy and new media--paint a picture of the shifting role of the genre known variously as longform, creative or literary nonfiction, and the New Journalism.Writers include Rachel Aviv, Anne Babe, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Pamela Colloff, Sara Corbett, Vanessa Grigoriadis, Brooke Jarvis, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Sheelah Kolhatkar, Jaeah Lee, Lizzie Presser, Janet Reitman, Lisa Taddeo, Jia Tolentino, Amy Wallace, and Elizabeth Weil.While journalists today, as always, are pledged to intellectual honesty and a true reporting of the facts, more than ever the genre is seen as an outlet for agency and a tool of social justice. Almost all of the women featured in New Stories We Tell aim their considerable journalistic talents at pressing issues of our day. Maybe someday soon, books like this won't be necessary. Written by women or not, these stories are simply great work.About the editors: Kaylen Ralph is a writer and editor; Joanna Demkiewicz is a marketing director for an independent press. Graduates of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, they were co-founders of the groundbreaking publication The Riveter, a longform magazine by women for everyone.PRAISE FOR NEW STORIES WE TELL "A well-selected anthology of potent stories by formidable women writers."--Kirkus Reviews"I would have killed for this book when I was a young and obsessed reader. I'm now an old and obsessed reader and I can't wait to read (reread) the stories and especially the As Told Tos. I'm honored to be in such amazing company."--Sara Corbett, coauthor, Becoming by Michelle Obama "New Stories We Tell is a collection of true stories written by American women journalists. It is a known fact that men dominate the world of nonfiction. This book is different because it brings together the excellent contributions of women journalists on varied topics. I appreciate how the editors celebrate the differences between the writing styles of authors from varied backgrounds. Every story begins with a short biographical account by the writer that helps you to understand the underlying passion and focus of her journalism. Some of the stories are still lingering in my mind after reading the entire book." 4 OUT OF 4 STARS.-- OnlineBookclub.org Praise for TSG's Women in Journalism Series "The caliber of work makes The Stories We Tell a master class in long-form journalism."--Kirkus Reviews"It only took fifty years for the women of long-form journalism to really get their due in an anthology, the newly published The Stories We Tell . . . a feast of great writing by twenty journalists at the top of their game."-- Harvard's Neiman Storyboard"Newswomen is an excellent start to catch us up on where the women are and what they've been doing all these years, namely, writing award-winning literary journalism that can inspire our students."--Literary Journalism Studies

New Stories We Tell: True Tales By America's New Generation of Great Women Journalists (TSG's Women in Journalism Series)

Literature & Fiction

Ralph, Kaylen

Essays & Correspondence

The Sager Group LLC

Three days a week for more than 20 years, Mike Levine wrote newspaper columns that stood up for the little guy, celebrated the lives of everyday people and shined a light on the darkness of corrupt and inept public servants. Words to Repair the World represents a distillation of some of the best of those columns.
Many knew Levine as a columnist for the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y., and later as executive editor of the newspaper. In life, Mike was a short guy, but in the world of journalism, he was a giant.
His columns were filled with stories of parenthood and family and of living in the Hudson Valley. He wrote about his work as an editor and columnist and served as a watchdog that challenged the arrogance of the powerful and held them accountable.
Equal parts preacher, mentor, comic and salesman, Mike sometimes talked about Tikkun olam , Hebrew for “repair of the world,” a concept that speaks to an aspiration to behave and act constructively and beneficially for the rest of the world. His work embraced that principle.
Mike died in 2007 at the age of 54. He left this world too soon, but the legacy he left behind lives on in the hearts of many. Words to Repair the World is a tribute to that legacy.
“Mike Levine was a wonderful human being and a great community newspaper editor who used his intuitive understanding of other people’s struggles with the difficulties of life to help his readers cope with and understand the complexities of the world’s problems. His columns were full of human kindness.” -- Jim Ottaway Jr., retired chairman of Ottaway Newspapers Inc.
“Mike was the ultimate newspaper guy, from his looks to his speech to his unwavering ambition to stick up for the little guy. Every newspaper should be so lucky to have a Mike Levine writing and editing for it. His passion for newspapers and the good that could come out of them was unmatched.”— Jeff Cohen, former editor of the Houston Chronicle
About the editor: Christopher Mele is a veteran newsman who, growing up in the Bronx, knew at the age of 11 that he wanted to cover the news. Over more than three decades, he's worked in newsrooms in New York and Pennsylvania and is currently a senior staff editor and weekend editor on the Express Team at The New York Times.

Words to Repair the World: Stories of Life, Humor and Everyday Miracles

Humor & Entertainment

Levine, Mike

Humor

A Lion’s Share is the second book in the Brotherhood of the Mamluks trilogy. The story is set in the 13th Century Middle East, during the Seventh Crusade. Told from the Egyptian perspective, it is a rare view of life among the Mamluks—elite Muslim warriors largely unheralded in the West—whose ranks ousted the Crusaders and Mongols from the Levant, preserving Islam. 
On the eve of a historic battle, Leander, a disenchanted Crusader, surrenders to Muslim amirs with the intent of joining the revered Bahri Mamluks. His move seems fated. The young Frenchman avoids the mass slaughter suffered by the Christian alliance and earns himself a place with the elite cavalry regiment, serving the Sultan of Egypt. Yet once King Louis IX of France seeks vengeance and sets Cairo as the objective of his campaign, Leander is faced with warfare against his native people as he defends his new home, comrades, and religion. 
When the Bahri’s adored sultan dies and Leander becomes tangled in forbidden love with an Egyptian woman, his world unravels further. As the Mamluks seize rule for themselves, a rivalry between opposing regiments turns bloody and the newly-formed Mamluk Sultanate tumbles into chaos, with Leander and his mates scrambling not only for position within the realigned empire, but also for their lives. Graft, a former U.S. Marine Officer who served in Somalia, reveals the fascinating story of the Mamluks and the intriguing history of the Mamluk Sword, the saber worn by Marines as part of their traditional dress uniform. Based on exhaustive research that took the author to Mongolia and the Middle East, the book is filled with vivid cultural details, battle accounts, and authentic characters. 
PRAISE FOR Brotherhood of the Mamluks: Book 1: Chains of Nobility 
* Chains of Nobility was a Finalist for the Colby Award, which recognizes “a first work of fiction or non-fiction that has made a major contribution to the understanding of military history, intelligence operations, or international affairs.” 
"An exacting, dramatic and absorbing look at a world most readers have never encountered, not in books, movies or history class: military slavery in the Middle East in the 13th Century." —Mardi Link, award-winning author and journalist
"In Chains of Nobility, Graft displays an exceptional writing style that captures the emotions, and often the harsh environment, in which the action is occurring. An enjoyable read." — Ron Christmas, Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps and past President/CEO Marine Corps Heritage Foundation
 “Graft’s historical novel follows a young, kidnapped nomad in the Middle East. The text abounds with evocative portrayals. . . Excitingly illuminates an ancient class of warriors.” —Kirkus Reviews 
 “Graft nimbly inserts the reader into the world and mindset of the medieval jihadi. From the Russian steppe to inside the citadel walls, he takes us where Mamluks are made and loyalty between comrades is sealed.” —Steven Pressfield, bestselling author of The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Warrior Ethos, and Gates of Fire 
 “Chains of Nobility is a harrowing tale of comradeship and combat, providing an in-the-saddle look at the process of creating Mamluks—early Islam’s military elite. A great piece of work.” —Nathaniel Fick, former Marine Officer and New York Times bestselling author of One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer

A Lion's Share (Brotherhood of the Mamluks)

Graft, Brad

Genre Fiction

Mike Sager has been called "the Beat poet of American Journalism." Vetville collects the best his stories about the Marine Corps. Together this tetralogy of long form pieces charts a life story arc of the modern Devil Dog. It begins at Camp Pendleton, CA, on field exercises with Lieutenant Colonel Bob Sinclair and his BN One-Four--the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment--as they prepare to invade Afghanistan, the first wave of American combatants sent to war after the deadly terrorist attacks of 9/11. "You realize that your country has been attacked," he says. "You wanna strike back."From there, we head to the Wounded Warriors Barracks at Camp Lejeune where we meet Ringo, Cebula, Wildman, Lieutenant Colonel Maxwell, and the rest of the men recuperating together at a unique barracks where wounded Marines harness their esprit de corps to help one another through emotional and physical recovery. We hear their battlefield stories of war and heroism. And their stories of injury and despair. And we discover the soft center that lives beneath the tough exterior shell of the Marine Corps mystique--a deep love of comrades and country. "Wounded Warriors" was awarded a number of awards, including The Military Writers Society of America Founder's Award.In "Vetville" we visit a small farm in the mountains of Tennessee, where a Marine sergeant, in an effort to save himself and others, has opened his doors to veterans whose deep wounds don't necessarily show. And, we catch up with John Cebula, one of the men encountered aboard the Wounded Warriors barracks. Without a supportive network around him, he has turned to drugs. Finally, in "Fifty Grand in San Diego," we focus on the return to civilian life after the corps, with a look at a modern version of the American Dream--an ex-Marine playing Mr. Mom and finding his silver cloud in a dirty diaper.Wounded Warriors was awarded: *The American Author's Association Golden Quill Award*The Military Writers Society of America Founder's Award"Entertaining and fascinating. At the end of the book, you will find yourself changed in some way. Call it empathy, or just a compassionate response to have seen and become aware of another man's pain and suffering; but you will remember these men that you read about long after putting this book to rest." --Military Writers Society of AmericaSager has written a gripping account of how these Marines are coping with their combat-altered lives. An experienced interviewer, he lets the Marines' stories speak for themselves...Powerful stuff." --Leatherneck, Magazine of the Marines

Vetville: True Stories of the U.S. Marines at War and at Home

Biographies & Memoirs

Sager, Mike

Leaders & Notable People

#MeAsWell, A Novel

Mehlman, Peter

Humor & Satire

From the start, it sounds ridiculous: Go to Tahiti and find Marlon Brando. But the worldwide search for the legendary Method actor, the star of such classic movies as The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, On the Waterfront, and Mutiny on the Bounty, soon becomes an obsession. The story of one man's coming of age. When we first meet him, Sager is 30 years old, divorce pending, no longer the youngest in the room. Winter is coming. His prospects are dim. After ten years as a journalist, he knows it's time to raise his game. He needs to write something big and important and lasting. Something epic. Something meaningful. Something to seal his reputation. As it is, the new editor of the Washington Post Magazine suggests an all-expenses-paid search for the most elusive actor of the times-starting at his south seas hideaway, a private atoll off the coast of Tahiti. Even though Brando famously hates the press and has refused for years to grant any interviews, Sager takes the job. Wouldn't you? Brando's work as an actor paved the way for generations to follow, as did his commitment to social activism. And he is credited with breaking the stereotype of the stoic, inch-deep, flawless American hero in favor of a distinct new template for American manhood-flawed, mercurial, quixotic, tough but tender. Sager's story of his worldwide hunt for the iconic actor is a totally true tale of far-flung travel, grandiose schemes, tropical adventure, Hollywood superstardom . . . and a beautiful Tahitian translator, who puts Sager's mission in jeopardy when she suddenly disappears. A classic piece first published in 1987, completely re-written and up-dated with over 40,000 words of new material. As it turned out, Hunting Marlon Brando altered the entire course of his life. With an afterword by Walt Harrington. "You have to dare to be bad in this world of ours, you have to try stuff, you might have to fail. One thing is certain: If you do what you always do, it's guaranteed to turn out the same." -from Hunting Marlon Brando

Hunting Marlon Brando: A True Story

The Orphan's Daughter is a novel about a woman who grows up in the shadow of her charismatic but troubled father, a man shaped by his boyhood in a Depression-era Jewish orphanage. The two life stories are woven together to form the fabric of this funny and suspenseful work of literary fiction. Clyde Aronson survives the cruelties of the seemingly bucolic orphanage but is left scarred. Brilliant and self-destructive, a popular high-school teacher and a callous womanizer, he yearns for a son to replace the relationship lost when his father abandoned him. Instead, he fathers two daughters. He resents most the one who most resembles him: the younger, Joanna. Joanna Aronson is thirty, alienated, and living in Southern California when she learns of her father's puzzling illness. She returns home to Baltimore to help care for him. In the process, the two reconcile; Joanna struggles to come to terms with her own difficult history. Clyde promises to leave Joanna his collected papers, including a secret manuscript written long ago about life in the orphanage. After Clyde's death, Joanna's stepmother inherits the house and all of his possessions. She refuses Joanna any access. Determined, Joanna breaks into the house and steals the manuscript. The stepmother presses charges. Though fictional, The Orphan's Daughter is based upon the time, from 1924 to 1934, the author's father spent in the Hebrew National Orphan Home in Yonkers, New York. This evocative novel incorporates a strong female voice, contemporary feminist themes, Jewish cultural history, and a nostalgic sense of place. By turns wrenching and delightfully humorous, The Orphan's Daughter is a deft melding of history and psychological drama, a literary page-turner you won't want to put down.

The Orphan's Daughter: A Novel

Cherubin, Jan

Religion & Spirituality

Janet Cooke caused one of the biggest scandals in the history of journalism when her Pulitzer Prize-winning article, about an eight-year-old heroin addict, turned out to be a fabrication. Cooke, a reporter for the Washington Post, worked under the legendary editors Ben Bradlee and Bob Woodward. Her disgrace was a jarring wakeup call for the news industry.

Janet’s World: The Inside Story of Washington Post Pulitzer Fabulist Janet Cooke (TSG's Women in Journalism Series)

Community & Culture

An Elizabeth Petrov Thriller Book 1 The Russians have developed a weapons system so powerful and deadly it could alter the balance of power in the world-and in space. What happens when an admittedly nerdy CalTech physics grad, a former model rocket enthusiast turned Ph.D., working at NASA's renowned Jet Propulsion Laboratory in sunny Pasadena, is recruited by a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) desperate to close the gap? Dr. Elizabeth Petrov was brought to the US as a toddler from Russia by her grandfather and speaks the language like a native. Her unique combination of birthright, education, and experience studying the field of hypersonic flight, where spacecraft can reach speeds over five times the speed of sound, brings her country calling. From all indications, the Russian system will soon be operational, a fact too chilling to even entertain. At first, Elizabeth is awed and fascinated by the unimaginable spy craft put at her disposal by the CIA. Answering her country's dire call, she martials her every asset and dives in, typical of a woman who went from high school to Ph.D. in only nine years. But when she inadvertently uncovers criminal behavior by a prominent US businessman, Elizabeth begins to understand why insiders call Washington, DC "the swamp." Wading through the fetid waters of deceit and corruption, she risks her life, and those of the people closest to her-her grandfather and her girlfriend-to do the right thing. The Swamp: Deceit and Corruption in the CIA is the first volume in the Elizabeth Petrov Thriller series, written by Jeff Grant, who served for 21 years at the CIA and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). While at the CIA, Grant worked at the highest levels of technological intelligence gathering. After leaving government service, Grant worked in the private sector, most recently as the VP/General Manager of Space Systems at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. Prior to publication, The Swamp was screened by the CIA and approved for release.

The Swamp: Deceit and Corruption in the CIA (An Elizabeth Petrov Thriller)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Grant, Jeff

Thrillers & Suspense

Chris Erskine is the master of domestic dramedy. For three decades in the Los Angeles Times, Erskine's columns explored modern fatherhood and family life, from the absurd to the mundane, the sublime to the heartbreaking. Now, with Lavender in Your Lemonade: A Funny and Touching COVID Diary, he tackles the New Normal with his chronicle of daily life under the frustrating, terrifying, and sometimes antic strictures of a world-wide pandemic. No, it's not funny. And yet somehow, in Erskine's hands, it is. Or at least it feels more tolerable. With elegant prose and an eye for telling detail, Erskine draws simple truths from the infinite complexities of the human condition, eight hundred words at a time. In the great tradition of Erma Bombeck, Mike Royko, Dave Barry, and Bob Greene, Erskine shows us ourselves in a funhouse mirror.

Lavender in Your Lemonade: A Funny and Touching COVID Diary

Erskine, Chris

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