This workshop is full. You can add yourself to the waitling list by clicking the button below.
An In-Person Memoir Workshop
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
This intensive, exclusive workshop—capped at just nine attendees—is geared toward dedicated writers interested in digging deeper into their personal narratives in a supportive and constructive group setting.
Two weeks prior to this workshop, participants will submit an essay or excerpt from a longer work-in-progress. Each participant will then be assigned two manuscripts to critique based on provided guidelines—one doesn’t need to be a professional editor to provide a thorough evaluation of the work, just a thoughtful and engaged reader who can ask questions and offer personal insight. Participants will also receive copies of the remaining manuscripts to read prior to the class to aid in a lively discussion.
At the workshop, attendees will read aloud their submissions. With Peavey’s guidance, the participants who critiqued each specific piece will help lead the discussion. Each participant’s manuscript will be discussed for half an hour, during which time they will hear critiques from the group, ask questions, follow up on comments, and air whatever concerns they have about the piece. Peavey will end each participant’s session with a wrap-up and suggestions for next steps.
*Participants should have taken a class or workshop in memoir, have memoir-writing experience, or a significant work-in-progress. We strive to be inclusive and this workshop is self-selecting, but please be thoughtful when selecting the right workshop for you.
+SUBMIT After registering, participants are asked to submit a manuscript of up to 1000-words by no later than 9:00 a.m. on May 20th. Please email the manuscripts as attachments to “programs@mainewriters.org” with the subject line: “PEAVEY WORKSHOP MSS.” *Word files are preferred, but you may also send a PDF.
+A Note on Manuscripts from the instructor:
As you prepare your submission, please keep the following in mind:
The selection you present is up to you. Some people like to bring their best and brightest sample and have a chance to share and celebrate their hard labors. Others prefer to present a problem piece to the group and hash out ways to move forward. Either approach is fine.
If your submission is a stand-alone scene or essay, great. If not, try to choose an excerpt that has a clear beginning, middle, and end and does not require a great deal of set-up or explanation. When you submit your manuscript, briefly provide enough context to ground us in the action. Include this information in brackets at the head of the piece. (You don’t need to include this in your word count, but again, please try to be succinct.)
Speaking of which: Please strictly observe the 1,000-word limit. Do this as a courtesy to your fellow workshop participants, but also do it for you. Having spent 25 years in journalism, I can tell you there is no better editing tool than adherence to a word count (that, and a grumpy editor on the other side of a deadline).
It will also be helpful to state the status of the piece (just starting, stalled, looking to expand it into a longer work, ready for publication).
+ PLEASE NOTE This workshop will be IN-PERSON at USM in Portland. Attendees will receive an email as to the exact location of the workshop the week of the workshop.
Elizabeth Peavey has been teaching memoir and personal narrative for MWPA since the days of quill and parchment. She is the author of three books, countless print columns and features, and was included in Breaking Bread, Essays from New England on Food, Hunger, and Family, which features some of Maine’s most illustrious authors. Her one-woman show, My Mother’s Clothes Are Not My Mother, ran for six years and received the Maine Literary Award for Best Drama. She has conducted personal narrative workshops for Bay Path University and Stonecoast’s MFA programs, as well as for new Mainers, prison inmates, an online elders group, and middle school boys, among others. She is a frequent keynote and guest lecturer at conferences and schools, and she provides communications training – with an emphasis on story – to such organizations as Jobs for Maine Graduates, the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute, and the John T. Gorman Foundation.
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 207-228-8263 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
$100 Members/$150 Nonmembers
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. Please email programs@mainewriters.org to check if the scholarship spot is still available by May 10th.
→ MORE INFORMATION
MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions. → MORE INFORMATION