In This Section
Join award-winning author Eldonna Edwards as she offers tips on how to apply novel-writing
techniques to your memoir so that it reads more like a fascinating tale and less like
your grandmother’s diary. She’ll also cover the importance of good editing, how to
choose an eye-popping title, whether or not to self-publish, and marketing your brand
beyond the book. This interactive workshop is tailored toward beginning to advanced
memoirists who are looking for fun and inspiration.
There’s the story you tell—and the one you’re scared to write. In this generative
and supportive workshop, memoir writers will explore the power of telling the “haunting
truth”: the memory, emotion, or insight that refuses to let go. Award-winning writer
and memoirist Kerra Bolton will examine ways for you to approach hard stories with
nuance, protect your emotional well-being while writing those stories, and develop
your voice as a narrator. Come prepared to write and reflect.
Haiku, vignette, literary short–each offers a slice of existence captured in fat-free
language. The energy of the short-form essay is observation, immediacy, and a flash
of awareness. In times of 28-character tweets, the New York minute, and, if we're
honest, shortened attention spans (can we blame social media?), the literary short
has come into its own. Writers and readers see value in saying more with less. In
this workshop, poet, essayist, and educator Leslie St. John will explore how submitting
to restraints (750 words) can be creatively useful. Expect to read and write short-form
essays with an eye for art and truth to enchant, challenge, and transform. She will
also discuss specific publication opportunities.
Neither life nor memoir happens in a vacuum. Writing about your life often means writing
about other people—those who shaped you, supported you, challenged you, and hurt you.
How do you tell the truth when it’s tangled with someone else’s privacy? What do you
owe them—and what do you owe the story? In this candid and practical session, memoirist,
teacher, and editor Sara Roahen explores how to portray real people with honesty,
nuance, and care.She’ll discuss ethical dilemmas, emotional safety, narrative fairness,
and how to write vivid, layered portraits without flattening or vilifying the people
involved. You’ll come away with tools to navigate this delicate terrain and the confidence
to share your story with integrity.
Your life holds stories only you can tell. In this workshop, poet and author Juan
Luzuriaga will encourage attendees to slow down and take a closer look at the moments
that shaped them. We’ll write together, talk about how to tell the truth without getting
lost in it, and explore what makes a memory worth putting on the page. Whether you’re
writing for yourself, your family, or a future reader—you’re welcome here. No polish
needed, just honesty.