“Ellen Sherman’s new novel, Just the Facts, is a poignant, colorful portrait of a young woman coming of age in a small newspaper newsroom. Brimming with an ardor for writing and great literature, rookie reporter Nora Plowright unearths a major political scandal, but discovers that her passion for storytelling, and compassion for the people she covers, often conflict with her job. Nora’s emotional odyssey is captivating as she grapples with the fallibility of daily journalism, her parents' foibles, religion, and a steady stream of potential boyfriends. Those of us who have labored in the trenches of journalism will savor Nora’s triumphs (front-page bylines!) and wince at her disasters, which so many of us have experienced.”
—William K. Marimow, two-time Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist and editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer

“From the beginning of her first job after college—as a staff reporter for a small Maryland newspaper—Nora Plowright pretty much knows she's happier writing about well-trained cockatiels and a school ban on potato chips than she is dealing with plane crashes, violent crime, and corruption. But nothing is as appealing to her as the variations on reality she rehearses in her mind as she drives from one assignment to the next. This is a touchingly honest and very funny twist on the cub-reporter-earns-her-stripes theme, and Nora is great company as she faces her (mostly) irrational fears, unexpected suitors, unsavory politicians . . . and a very dangerous bag of peppermint puffs.”
—Jane Schwartz, author of Caught and Ruffian: Burning from the Start

“Ellen Sherman has written a smart, funny, and accomplished novel. Just the Facts provides both an inside view of the world of a small-town newspaper and an engaging portrait of a young woman at a pivotal point in her life.”
—Kitty Burns Florey, author of The Writing Master