Research-based writing

My deep research-based writing usually starts in a place most people would rather avoid: too many sources, too much data, and just enough contradiction to make everything feel a little unstable. That’s where I thrive. I dig in—primary and secondary research, interviews, data analysis, whatever I can get my hands on—and start pulling threads until something coherent emerges.

But my goal with research-based writing isn’t just to get it right (though that matters); it’s also to make it readable. The best (slightly underhanded) compliment I’ve ever received came from a reviewer for a peer-reviewed academic journal I was working with to publish The Literary Refugees of Timbuktu, who told me my writing was “too accessible” and “not academic enough.” I took that as a win. If an average reader can engage with a complex topic, enjoy it, and actually learn something from it, that’s about as good as it gets.

The Literary Refugees of Timbuktu: How a Group of Unlikely Allies Thwarted Al Qaeda and Organized One of the Most Brazen Cultural Heritage Evacuations Ever Attempted

For centuries, Timbuktu, Mali, has quietly housed some of the greatest treasures of the ancient world: hundreds of thousands of scientific, literary, and religious manuscripts. But when Al Qaeda jihadists seized control of the city in the wake of a coup in 2012, the manuscripts found themselves in dire threat of destruction. To save them, a group of unlikely allies worked together to organize one of the most brazen evacuations of cultural heritage ever attempted . . . and succeeded in rescuing 95% of Timbuktu’s ancient written heritage. In examining the story of the manuscripts, this article considers three areas—preparation, evacuation, and continued preservation—in which cultural heritage institutions can gain insight into the preservation of historical treasures in the midst of conflict.

Read the article

Bonus reading: Book Review—The Bad Ass Librarians of Timbuktu