A man who has published two books and had several articles published in magazines, John Hildebrand has plenty of experience writing nonfiction stories.

Hildebrand has written articles and essays for magazines such as Harper’s, Audubon and Sports Illustrated, using the literary journalism writing style, combining journalism with creative writing and storytelling.

That storytelling style will be the basis for Hildebrand’s Forum presentation titled “Chasing Stories: A Narrative View of Life,” which begins at 7:30 p.m. today in Schofield Auditorium.

Hildebrand, who is on sabbatical leave from the English department this semester, said he hopes to give the message that literary journalism is easier to explore than it looks.

“Once I realized that there were stories all around me, it made it easier to be a writer,” he said. “The burden of imagination is lifted, because the stories are all around you. You don’t have to invent them.”

Hildebrand has written two books in the literary journalism style. One called “Reading the River: A Voyage Down the Yukon” came about while on a canoe trip down the Yukon River.

“A canoe trip seems pretty mundane,” he said. “What made it interesting was the people I met and talked to as I went down the river.”

During the presentation, Hildebrand will explain how writers don’t have to come up with their own story idea to write a good nonfiction story.

“People are under the erroneous impression that they have to conjure up a story using purely their imagination,” he said. “There are any number of ready-made stories they can write, whether they’re about themselves or other people around them.”

Hildebrand hopes his lecture is interesting to all students, not just those interested in creative writing.

“I hope that when people leave, they start to appreciate the narratives around them,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll know some good stories to tell and be receptive when they hear some.”