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Writing About Objects

Crafting Nonfiction From Things

Writing About Objects cover

Writing About Objects

Crafting Nonfiction From Things

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Pre-order. Available Aug 06 2026
$17.96 RRP $22.45 Website price saving $4.49 (20%)

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Description

People are obsessed with objects: the memories they hold, the thoughts they inspire, the skills they showcase, their monetary value, and what they communicate to others. This book guides creative nonfiction writers through crafting prose inspired by the material things in their lives. Combining ideas from the fields of creative writing, rhetoric and composition and qualitative inquiry, it investigates how authors examine the cultural and personal significance of objects and offers new approaches for how writers might use personal experience and theoretical context to get the most out of object writing.

Melissa Tombro draws on her experience as a third-generation antiques dealer and professor of writing and gender studies to explore the power of materiality in storytelling and how we come to understand ourselves and others based on what is owned, valued, and discarded. Through case studies, personal writing, theory and literature, the book considers topics and ideas including: collecting and collections, cultural and monetary value of objects, family history and nostalgia, gender in relation to objects, public collections and archives, inherited objects, garbage and recycled objects, objects and status, generational trends and fads, and objects in the age of social media.

Providing the foundations for writerly growth by engaging in cultural analysis, autoethnographic inquiry, narrative building, and personal reflection, Writing About Objects presents original assignments and prompts to extend writers' thinking outside of the self and towards the larger cultural sphere. This is not just a how-to guide but an exploration of how people collect, value and engage with the things around them.

Accessibility Information

Additional accessibility information

  • EPUB 3.0
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  • accessibility@bloomsbury.com

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1 – Nonfiction Object Writing
Chapter 2 – Personal Collections and Collecting
Chapter 3 – Autoethnography & Research
Chapter 4 – Public Objects and Collections
Chapter 5 – Things We Leave Behind
Conclusion
Student Examples
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published Aug 06 2026
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Pages 216
ISBN 9781350518322
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Melissa Tombro

Melissa Tombro is Professor of Writing and founder…

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