Godfather of Creative Nonfiction; Expert on Nursing, Healthcare, Science & Technology
“Gutkind is the Godfather behind Creative Nonfiction.”—Vanity Fair
“The leading figure in the field.”—Harper’s
Lee Gutkind, recognized by Vanity Fair as “the Godfather behind creative nonfiction,” is the author and editor of more than 25 books with specialties in healthcare and nursing and science and technology. He is the founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction, the first and largest literary magazine to publish narrative nonfiction exclusively. Gutkind is Distinguished Writer-in-Residence in the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes at Arizona State University and a professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication. Gutkind is a sought-after keynote speaker about creative nonfiction, memoir, healthcare issues – especially nursing – and science and technology. He has lectured to audiences around the world – from China to the Czech Republic, from Australia to Africa to Egypt, and has appeared on many national radio and televisions shows, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central), Good Morning America, National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation and All Things Considered, as well as BBC World.
Gutkind’s latest books are You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: The Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction – from Memoir to Literary Journalism and Everything in Between, is “reminiscent of Stephen King’s fiction handbook On Writing,” according to Kirkus Reviews, “An accessible, indispensable nonfiction guidebook from an authority who knows his subject from cover to cover,” and the anthology I Wasn’t Strong Like This: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse, which the New York Times called “beautifully wrought.” His other books include An Immense New Power to Heal: The Promise of Personalized Medicine, Almost Human: Making Robots Think, Many Sleepless Nights: The World of Organ Transplantation, Stuck in Time: The Tragedy of Childhood Mental Illness, and One Children’s Place: Inside a Children’s Hospital. He is also the editor of the anthology At the End of Life: True Stories About How We Die.
Gutkind has received numerous honors and awards for his work, including The Steve Allan Individual Award, by United Mental Health, Inc., Chancellor’s Award for Public Service, Meritorious Service Award by American Council on Transplantation, Howard Blakeslee Award by the American Heart Association for “Outstanding Journalism,” and Golden Eagle Award by CINE, for the film, A Place Just Right. He is the recipient of the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts. Gutkind is listed in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in the East, International Men of Achievement, International Directory of Distinguished Leadership, Who’s Who in American Publishing, and Who’s Who in American Education.
Praise for Lee Gutkind’s Talks
“Lee Gutkind is the total package! Not only is he the authority on creative nonfiction, but he is also a compelling, entertaining, and flexible speaker. We were fortunate to have him on campus for several days, during which he read his own excellent work, lectured on genre and craft, and created an energetic dialogue with students and faculty during a series of class visits. We all learned a lot from Lee, and enjoyed ourselves very much in the process!”
—Amy Lemmon, Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC
“Lee Gutkind – the Godfather behind the creative nonfiction movement – is as compelling on stage as he is on the page. Gutkind is a mesmerizing storyteller . . . even when addressing the art of telling a story. And in this era obsessed with reality, no one is better prepared to address the complexity, richness, and history of true narrative. We simply can’t get enough of Mr. Gutkind. We plan to bring him back again and again.”
—Neil White, Director, Oxford Creative Nonfiction Conference
Creative Director & Publisher, The Nautilus Publishing Company
Author, In the Sanctuary of Outcasts
“Kudos to Lee Gutkind, a professional all the way. Gutkind’s presentation expanded our core audience of art-lovers. University students were enamored to meet such a well-spoken writer, while the general community was captivated by his research and experience. Can’t wait for an opportunity to invite him back to our museum and university.”
—Aimee Geist, Education Curator, Ulrich Museum of Art,
Wichita State University
Praise for I Wasn’t Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse
“It is beautifully wrought, but more significantly a reminder that these ‘semi-invisible’ people, as Lee Gutkind calls them in this new book, are now the ‘indispensable and anchoring element of our health care system.’”
—Jane Gross, the New York Times
Praise for You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
“The essential and definitive guide to creative nonfiction. It is engaging to read as it is useful. Any writer or reader will find it indispensable and, frankly, inspiring.”
—Susan Orlean , New Yorker writer and author of The Orchid Thief and Rin Tin Tin
“Lee Gutkind has written the bible for creative nonfiction. Written with muscular, driving, clear prose, it’s hard to put down. Even if you never want to write, you’ll want to read this.”
—Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones
Praise for Almost Human
“. . .Fascinating. . . Excellent reporting. . .chapters are filled with humanizing anecdotes about each researcher – and they are a zany bunch. One man subsisted for a time on Cheerios, chocolate milk and Budweiser. Another claimed to have wrestled a gorilla on a dare. Each set of quirks sets the stage for the researcher to explain why his work could someday change the world.”
—The Wall Street Journal on Almost Human
“Entertaining. . . Gutkind excels at making complex technical concepts comprehensible and painting vivid word pictures. . . What Gutkind has accomplished — making readers understand why these scientists chase after their quixotic dream.”
—The Los Angeles Times on Almost Human
“A compelling account that reveals how far [roboticists] have come, but how far they have yet to travel to create machines with human sensibilities and gumption.”
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Almost Human
“Almost Human is an eloquent meditation on the fragile and increasingly friable line between flesh and metal, dendrites and wires. This book tells the tale of mad scientists and the strangely sane machines they create; in doing so, it illuminates the rarified world of computer science while simultaneously transcending it, or widening it, by bringing to light the essential questions robots raise for us – questions of autonomy, of cognition, of ambition and the toll it takes.”
—Lauren Slater, author of Welcome to My Country, Prozac Diary, and Opening Skinner’s Box on Almost Human
“We may be long way from Thinking Robots, the stuff of science fictions dreams, or nightmares, depending upon your perspective, but one day they will exist. Almost Human provides an in-depth glimpse into the exciting, if embryonic, developments in one of the world’s leading robotics laboratories, where today’s robots now play games and get trained to drive vehicles and scout landscapes, and tomorrows robots will be created.”
—Lawrence Krauss, Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Case Western Reserve University, and author The Physics of Star Trek and Hiding in the Mirror on Almost Human
