Erika Hayasaki

Nov 13, 2024 | niemanstoryboard.org | Erika Hayasaki |Kim Cross

Three weeks after the nation’s deadliest wildfire in a century blackened a huge swath in Maui, freelance journalist Erika Hayasaki felt called to go there and tell the story. At home in Southern California, she saw dramatic TV coverage and news stories about escapes, but noticed that “information felt very muddled.” “I thought: There is a need for narratives there,” she recalls. After reaching out to a few editors, some of whom were on vacation, she wasn’t able to secure a story assignment.

Oct 11, 2024 | narratively.com | Erika Hayasaki

In honor of Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of atomic bomb survivors, being awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to abolish nuclear weapons, we’re republishing this important Narratively Classic here this weekend. I keep a red file folder, its edges faded from nearly three decades of exposure to dust and light. Inside, the title words I typed in 1991: “The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima.” It is the first research paper I ever wrote.

Oct 1, 2024 | thereportedessay.substack.com | Erika Hayasaki

It has been nearly two decades since I wrote about Binna. But her story stays with me. I wonder if she’s doing okay. I question if I did everything right. It was 2006, on a weekend shift at the Los Angeles Times, when I first learned about a murder-suicide. Another reporter had written up details based on police reports: A father had shot his entire family in Koreatown before killing himself. Only his teenage daughter survived, a bullet to her head. In the news story, she had not been named.

Sep 23, 2024 | substack.com | Erika Hayasaki

Independent journalist writing features (clips: erikahayasaki.com/longform ). Author of two narrative nonfiction books: The Death Class and Somewhere Sisters. Professor in the Literary Journalism Program at UC Irvine. Bio: erikahayasaki.com

Sep 19, 2024 | niemanstoryboard.org | Kim Cross |Erika Hayasaki

Tagged with Dramatic Tension Ledes narrative structure Nut grafs Wildfires Writing scenes By Kim Cross Three weeks after the nation’s deadliest wildfire in a century blackened a huge swath in Maui, freelance journalist Erika Hayasaki felt called to go there and tell the story. At home in Southern California, she saw dramatic TV coverage and news stories about escapes, but noticed that “information felt very muddled.” “I thought: There is a need for narratives there,” she recalls. After...