Adventures in Non-Fiction: Investigations and Manifestos with Jon Ronson and Francis Wheen

Over the course of three days in the surroundings of the legendary Shakespeare and Company bookshop, Paris, acclaimed authors Jon Ronson and Francis Wheen will illustrate how to investigate and write about the more absurd corners of recent political and social history.

Drawing from their own and other key works, the tutors will illustrate different and complimentary approaches to writing and researching this particular type of non fiction. Jon Ronson (Them: Adventures With Extremists, The Men Who Stare at Goats) travels around the world meeting political and religious extremists and crazy military and business gurus and documents in a human way the bubbles of irrationality they occupy. Francis Wheen (How Mumbo Jumbo Conquered the World, Strange Days Indeed) utilising his intricate knowledge of the battier aspects of our political landscapes to create humorous and brilliantly detailed collages of our times, drawing on individual biographies of eccentric characters.

This lively and energetic course will also tackle difficult issues such as how to find your subject, draw out reluctant interviewees, unlock dead ends, pull your research into a coherent narrative and position yourself within the text.

About the Tutors

Jon Ronson is a writer and documentary film maker. His books, Them: Adventures With Extremists and The Men Who Stare At Goats were international bestsellers. The Men Who Stare At Goats has been turned into a major motion picture starring George Clooney. He's also the author of two collections, Out Of The Ordinary: True Tales of Everyday Craziness and What I Do: More True Tales of Everyday Craziness.  

He's written the popular 'Human Zoo' and 'Out of the Ordinary' columns for the Guardian, where he still contributes features. He currently writes and presents the twice Sony nominated BBC Radio 4 series, 'Jon Ronson On...'  

For Channel 4, Jon has made a number of films including the acclaimed five part series the Secret Rulers of the World and the multi award-winning Tottenham Ayatollah. His most recent documentaries are Reverend Death (Channel 4), Stanley Kubrick's Boxes (More4) and Robbie Williams and Jon Ronson Journey to the Other Side (Radio 4).  

In the US, he is a contributor to Public Radio International's 'This American Life'. He's currently writing a new book for Picador and a movie, called Frank, for Film 4.

Francis Wheen is an author, journalist and broadcaster, described by Melvyn Bragg as 'a superb, idiosyncratic chronicler of our times'. He is a regular contributor to Private Eye and was named 'Columnist of the Year' for his 'Wheen’s World' page in the Guardian. His collected journalism, Hoo-Hahs and Passing Frenzies, won the George Orwell Prize in 2003. 'I can’t remember judging any prize where the winner is so sheerly enjoyable,' said David Hare, chairman of the judges. 'This is a writer who can dispatch an argument with the flick of a wrist, who can get humour to do in one well-timed movement what others labour over fifty pages to achieve. This is someone who seeks not just to entertain you, or even to persuade you, but urgently to enlighten you.'

His other books include a highly acclaimed biography of Karl Marx which has been translated into twenty-two languages and the bestselling How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World. He also wrote the screenplay for The Lavender List, a BBC drama about Harold Wilson’s last days in government. His latest book, Strange Days Indeed: The Golden Age of Paranoia, was hailed by the Washington Post as 'a masterpiece indeed, a mind-blowing work of nonfiction black humour.'

For more information, visit www.faberacademy.co.uk