A 5-Week Memoir Workshop
Wednesdays, November 4 - December 9*, 6-8 PM
Storytelling is an art form AND a powerful creative tool for our writing lives. In this lively, collaborative course, you'll work on your own personal stories out loud. In the process, you’ll learn how to engage your audience, figure out what you want to write & talk about, and really nail story structure. You’ll also meet your own written “voice” - that elusive voice! - in brand new ways.
Finally, you’ll learn more about yourself and what’s truly important to you, both in and out of your creative life.
In this collaborative 5-week intensive, you'll find stories from your life that you want to tell and learn how to make those stories compelling AND fun to tell out loud. You can use these stories as the beginning seeds of written pieces or performed stories onstage (think The Moth).
We’ll conclude the class with a celebratory “share” of our work with each other, and you’ll leave with strategies and ideas for bringing these new tools into whatever genre of writing you work in.
Sessions include generative exercises, out-loud practice in small groups, and individual coaching with me. We’ll work on at least one story and build a bank of future personal stories to bring into our written work.
This class is perfect for writers interested in new techniques for memoir, personal essay, creative nonfiction, or anyone who wants to bring more narrative skill to their storytelling in any medium.
*No class on November 25.
$275 Members/$355 Nonmembers
Micaela Blei is a story editor, educator and writer living in Portland, Maine. She’s a two-time NYC Moth GrandSLAM champion and founding Director of Education at The Moth, where she designed the storytelling curriculum now used by thousands worldwide. For the past four years, she's been the Professor of Storytelling Performance at The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. She holds a PhD in Education with research focused on narrative identity and storytelling performance.
Micaela has toured worldwide with her own stories, which have been featured on This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour, Risk, and other platforms. Her Audible Original memoir "You Will Not Recognize Your Life" was a category bestseller, and her debut full-length memoir is forthcoming from HarperOne in 2026. Having coached hundreds of storytellers and writers from nervous first-timers to seasoned professionals, she specializes in helping people figure out that they're actually very, very interesting.
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