Pulitzer Winner Wilkerson Named 2009 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer

By: A Pulitzer Prize-winning writer known for her narrative works has been named the 2009 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer at the University of Nevada, Reno's Reynolds School of Journalism.

Isabel Wilkerson has specialized in what has been described as the "journalism of empathy" ? a writing style that requires a journalist to invest weeks or months researching a story to understand everyday life from an insider's perspective.

Among other things, Wilkerson has covered the uprooting of people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. She's publishing a book next year about the migration of African Americans from the American south to the big cities of the north.

She plans to discuss her craft in a free lecture Oct. 7 at the Joe Crowley Student Union at 7 p.m.