Previewing the 23rd Power of Narrative Conference

When the 23rd Power of Narrative Conference kicks off on March 18, it will include in-person events for the first time in three years. But the annual gathering of journalists and documentarians will also maintain some of the virtual elements developed during the pandemic—and with the introduction of a new scholarship program, the conference is accessible to more people than ever.

“This year feels like we’re balancing between a COVID and post-COVID world, so we decided on our hybrid format,” says Sarah Kess, associate director of the conference. 

“Because we want the conference to remain as accessible as possible, we could foresee a future where the conference is fully in-person with an option for attendees to tune in to many talks via livestream or an option to access recordings for a small fee.”

I’m excited about being in a room again with people who care deeply about telling true stories.

Mitch Zuckoff

With that future in mind, COM has launched the David Carr Scholarship program, which will provide free attendance to 10 journalists or journalism students. The scholarships, named for the late New York Times journalist and BU professor, aims to support journalists who represent groups historically underrepresented in the industry. 

Highlighting the two-day event will be keynote speakers Erin Lee Carr (David Carr’s daughter), Sopan Deb and Margot Lee Shetterly. Carr, a filmmaker and the author of All That You Leave Behind: A Memoir (Ballantine, 2019), will speak following a screening of one of her documentaries at WBUR’s CitySpace on the conference’s opening evening. Deb (’10), a New York Times culture writer and the author of Missed Translations: Meeting the Immigrant Parents Who Raised Me (Harper Collins, 2020), and  Shetterly, the author of Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race (Harper Collins, 2016), will speak on Saturday.  

In between talks, attendees can choose from a slate of breakout sessions, including “Telling the Stories that Matter, Better,” “Covering Addiction Issues” and “A Match Made in Revision: The Writer–Editor Relationship.” 

“I’m excited about being in a room again with people who care deeply about telling true stories,” says Mitch Zuckoff, conference director and the Sumner M. Redstone Professor in Narrative Studies. “I expect that Erin’s screening and talk will feel like a reunion where we can catch up professionally and personally, with all the spontaneous and serendipitous connections that I’ve always loved about PoN since I first attended as a speaker two decades ago.”

Deb spoke with COMtalk about returning to his alma mater, switching genres and writing his new novel, which will be published later this year. 

Q&A

With Sopan Deb

COMtalk: You’ve worked in a variety of styles—journalism, memoir, comedy, fiction–is there a common thread that links your voice across genres? And in what ways do you approach each of them differently?

Deb: Restlessness. I have this irresistible urge to challenge myself in new ways. But generally, the common thread across all of these ventures is that I love telling stories, and finding original ways to tell them. In terms of approaching them differently, what is required for journalism is totally different, for example, than what is required for fiction or memoir. I have to compartmentalize. When I’m writing fiction, I’m a fiction writer. When I’m doing my job as a journalist, I’m a journalist. That seems quaint, but I use different muscles for each part of it. 

COMtalk: Your first novel comes out this summer. What inspired you to branch into fiction and what can readers expect from Keya Das’s Second Act?

Deb: I discovered after writing my memoir, Missed Translations, that I really enjoyed longform writing, and that I had more to say. As far as the novel itself, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about forgiveness and grief in recent years. So I wrote this novel about this Indian American family in New Jersey that tries to stage a play Off Broadway without knowing anything about theater. The play is written by the deceased teenage daughter who had a falling out with the family and is discovered after the family has already been splintered as a result of her death. This seems heavy, and parts of the book are, but I also make sure to infuse the story with comedy and absurdity. At least, I hope so. The book is set among the Bengali American community I grew up around, and I get to interrogate my love of theater. 

COMtalk: What would Sopan Deb, 2022 Power of Narrative keynote speaker, say to Sopan Deb, 2010 COM student?

Deb: I’m so sorry about what happens to your hairline. Make sure you constantly check your Twitter direct messages because your future wife is going to message you at some point and you don’t want to miss it. Also, your next 12 years are going to change you in ways you’ll find shocking. It’s okay for you to not have things figured out. I don’t either. And that’s okay. It’s what will fuel you. 

COMtalk: Can you give us a sneak peek at what you’ll talk about in your keynote?

Deb: My hope is to speak about how to explore different facets of yourself, rather than just put yourself in one box. But if I notice the audience falling asleep in the middle of the talk, I’m just going to talk about my favorite Star Trek episodes.

Registration for the virtual events at this year’s Power of Narrative conference remains open. It’s free for BU students, $49 for non-BU students, $59 for BU alumni, and $79 for the general public.