Up: [[Story]] Created: 2023-06-08 A malcolm is a human interest story used at the start of a chapter in a nonfiction book. It’s intended to draw in readers, getting them to care about the subject matter by providing a relatable, real life example before the author makes his or her more abstract points. Malcolms are named after Malcolm Gladwell who uses them beautifully. Like Malcolm Gladwell’s books, they are generally found only in nonfiction books written for a general audience. If the book is for a specialist, they’ve already got an interest in the field and malcolms are thought to be unnecessary. What’s good about malcolms is that if they are written well, they’re really engaging and they bring the reader into deep and emotional contact with the theme of the book. What’s bad about malcolms is that it’s really difficult to write them well, and they are massively overused.