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Best of 2017: Profile Writing

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Curated by Longreads.com
Updated Sep 8, 20269 essays
A Most American Terrorist: The Making Of Dylann Roof
A Most American Terrorist: The Making Of Dylann Roof0.0

Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah spoke with Dylan Roof's family, friends, former teachers, and the victims' families to unlock what created one of the coldest killers of our time.

Gerhard Steidl Is Making Books an Art Form
Gerhard Steidl Is Making Books an Art Form0.0

He is the printer the world’s best photographers trust most.

Her Eyes Were Watching the Stars: How Missy Elliott Became an Icon
Her Eyes Were Watching the Stars: How Missy Elliott Became an Icon0.0

Missy Elliott has been making ahead-of-the-curve music and mind-bending videos for 20 years—and that's no fluke. Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah goes behind the curtain with the ultraprivate creative genius.

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The notoriously press-avoidant Cormac McCarthy is usually mapped onto the American West, but his Appalachian childhood deeply informs his earlier works. Shannon explores the Appalachian McCarthy and his connection to Knoxville, Tenessee in a profile that’s as much about a McCarthy-obsessed psychology professor and the cult of McCarthy as it is about the grizzled, mythic, overblown novelist himself.

The princess myth: Hilary Mantel on Diana
The princess myth: Hilary Mantel on Diana0.0

The Wolf Hall novelist on the 20th anniversary of the death of the Princess of Wales, an icon ‘only loosely based on the young woman born Diana Spencer’

Dwayne Johnson for President!
Dwayne Johnson for President!0.0

Dwayne Johnson, star of Baywatch, has so much charisma and ambition, some people say he could be president. GQ's Caity Weaver finds out: is the Rock meant for higher office?

Gloria Allred’s Crusade
Gloria Allred’s Crusade0.0

The attorney takes on Bill Cosby, rape law, and Donald Trump.

Kelela is ready for you now
Kelela is ready for you now0.0

Before Kelela could make her ingenious debut album, she had to learn how to live and love in an oppressive world.

Pet Project
Pet Project0.0

In Internet years, WeRateDogs may be older than its college-aged creator Matt Nelson—it's rare for a joke Twitter account to continue growing after a year and a half.