Episode 31: Washington Post reporter Jessica Contrera schools future journalists

Behind the Prose

Happy 2016 Prosers! We've been rocking for almost a year now! Check out the very first Behind the Prose with essayist Tavonne Carson. I'm kicking off 2016 with two great episodes. Today's show features reporter Jessica Contrera who works at The Washington Post. She talks reporting and writing in this episode recorded live with students at Penn State Berks. In two weeks, you'll get an interview with Kim Brooks, Life Editor at Salon. Jessica discusses her new job and how she crafted an award-winning story about a hometown Waffle House. (You can also read the transcript.) If you're in the New York City area on Friday, make sure you go to Susan Shapiro's SECRETS OF PUBLISHING PANEL. You know Sue. If you don't, you should. Meet her and other great writers and editors on Friday, January 15, 7-8:30 p.m. at The Strand Bookstore (12th and Broadway). The event features author Judy Batalion and her debut memoir White Walls: A Memoir about Motherhood, Daughterhood, and the Mess In Between. Admission is either a copy of White Walls or a $15 gift card to The Strand.