A 1-Day In-Person Memoir Workshop
Saturday, August 8, 10 AM - 4 PM
The storage shelves of our minds are filled with memories. Whether in a momentary snapshot or a full film reel, life’s collected scenes can be the raw material for compelling stories. The challenge for anyone trying to write their story is to figure out how to sift through those memories, re-enter those scenes, poke around, ask questions, and shape them into something accessible and meaningful on the page.
In this generative workshop, we will tackle that challenge, and through writing exercises and prompts designed to tap into remembered experiences, we’ll begin the process of reconstructing moments from the past and write into the stories they hold. We will spend time examining craft topics central to memoir and essay, including sensory details and descriptive language; vivid, cinematic scenes; realistic dialogue; narrative tension; and authentic voice.
$120 Members/$175 Nonmembers
Melanie Brooks is the author of the books A Hard Silence: One Daughter Remaps Family, Grief, and Faith When HIV/AIDS Changes It All (Vine Leaves Press, 2023) and Writing Hard Stories: Celebrated Memoirists Who Shaped Art From Trauma (Beacon Press, 2017). She teaches creative nonfiction in the M.F.A. programs at Bay Path University and Western Connecticut State University and professional writing at Northeastern University. She holds an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast writing program and a Certificate in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. She has had numerous interviews and essays on topics ranging from loss and grief to parenting and aging published in The Boston Globe, HuffPost, The Globe and Mail, Yankee, The Washington Post, Psychology Today, Ms. Magazine, Creative Nonfiction, and other notable publications. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, two children (when they are home from adult lives away), and two Labs.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.
PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICIES
If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact programs@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-200-7180 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
REGISTER BY MAIL
If you prefer to pay by mail, please print this registration form (downloadable PDF) and mail it to the MWPA with a check or credit card information.
SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one partial scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Application Due two weeks prior to the workshop start date, at 9:00 a.m.
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MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION