Narrative nonfiction is a genre of writing that tells a true story about real people and events using literary styles and techniques typically seen in fiction. It is also known as creative nonfiction or literary nonfiction. Narrative nonfiction is based on factual accuracy and requires heavy research and thorough exploration. It aims to entertain while also sharing a true, compelling story.

Some key features of narrative nonfiction include:

• Storytelling: Narrative nonfiction is written in the style of a fiction novel, with a focus on storytelling.

• Factual Accuracy: For a text to be considered narrative nonfiction, it must be factually accurate.

• Literary Style and Technique: Narrative nonfiction is written with attention to literary style and technique, such as character development, dialogue, and setting.

• Perspective: Narrative nonfiction can switch perspectives, tenses, and timelines, unlike memoirs, biographies, and autobiographies, which are often written from one perspective.

Forms within this genre include memoir, diary, travel writing, food writing, literary journalism, chronicle, personal essays, and other hybridized essays, as well as some biography and autobiography. When book-length works of creative nonfiction follow a story-like arc, they are sometimes called narrative nonfiction.