The proliferation of Creative Nonfiction departments came with a campaign for a new and distinct genre. Since “truth” is relative (the argument often went) and memory is unreliable, why not mix fictive techniques with fact and experience to better “shape” nonfiction narratives? OK, but what becomes of our contract with the reader when we embellish or omit key elements of what we know, or invent what we don’t? How far is too far? What’s creativity, and what is making shit up? This talk, rife with examples and craft considerations, will dive into the hornets’ nest of nonfiction ethics and imagination.

Diana Goetsch has written dozens of nonfiction features, essays and columns for The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, The American Scholar, LitHub, and elsewhere. This Body I Wore, her memoir about the budding trans communities in late 20th century New York City, was cited among "Memoirs That Changed a Generation” at Oprah Daily. Goetsch has also published eight volumes of poetry and has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, The New York Foundation for the Arts, Yaddo, and The New School, where she was the Grace Paley Teaching Fellow.