Literary Journalism and Social Justice

This book examines the prominent place a commitment to social justice and equity has occupied in the global history of literary journalism. With international case studies, it explores and theorizes the way literary journalists have addressed inequality and its consequences in their practice. In the process, this volume focuses on the critical attitude the writers of this genre bring to their stories, the immersive reporting they use to gain detailed and intimate knowledge of their subjects, and the array of innovative rhetorical strategies through which they represent those encounters.  The contributors explain how these strategies encourage readers to respond to injustices of class, race, indigeneity, gender, mobility, and access to knowledge. Together, they make the case that, throughout its history, literary journalism has proven uniquely well adapted to fusing facts with feeling in a way which makes it a compelling force for social change.

Robert Alexander is Associate Professor of English at Brock University, Canada. He is the co-editor of Fear and Loathing Worldwide: Gonzo Journalism Beyond Hunter S. Thompson (2018).

Willa McDonald is Senior Lecturer in Media at Macquarie University, Australia, where she teaches and researches narrative journalism. Her books include Warrior for Peace: Dorothy Auchterlonie Green (2009) and the co-edited The Writer’s Reader (2007).