I’ve been teaching memoir for over a decade with Linda Joy Myers (far right), President of the National Association of Memoir Writers. We offer a six-month mentorship course, Write Your Memoir in Six Months, and regular four- to six-week courses through Magic of Memoir, where we teach and collaborate with best-selling memoirists and memoir teachers.
I’ve been editing and publishing memoirs since 2004 in my role as Executive Editor at Seal Press. In my current role as Publisher of She Writes Press, I publish around 50 memoirs a year. I’m the author of three books on memoir, and I bring my love of the genre to every class, event, and offering.
Since 2010, I’ve been teaching memoir with Linda Joy Myers, President of the National Memoir Association. We focus on craft and process and run this course from January-June and July-December. Discover more details at Write Your Memoir in Six Months.
Every spring and fall we offer six-week intensives on craft and process through Magic of Memoir. Our upcoming fall course is called: THE COURAGE TO WRITE FEARLESSLY, featuring Carmen Maria Machado and Stephanie Foo. Our guest teachers over the years have been such powerhouses as Elizabeth Gilbert, Dani Shapiro, Kiese Laymon, Jacqueline Woodson, Reyna Granda, Sue William Silverman, Ashley C. Ford, and others. Join my email list to stay in the know on upcoming courses.
I regularly collaborate with Linda Joy Myers to teach four-week classes focused on various best-selling memoirs—and what made them best-sellers. These are craft-focused courses that support authors to better understand what these authors are doing right. To see the entire list of archived classes, CLICK HERE.
Write Your Memoir in Six Months was, without question, the most useful and inspiring writing class I have taken. The insight and practical tools I learned about character, dialogue, how to make my story universal through the use of takeaways and reflection inspired me to do another full revision with a sophistication and lens I simply did not have before. Best gift I could have given my writing self!
—Julie Fingersh, Writer & Freelance Journalist
Gretchen Cherington joined Write Your Memoir in Six Months in 2018 and published her memoir, Poetic License, in 2020. She joined the class to rewrite her 100,000-word manuscript and shaved off 15,000 words while she was at it.
“I only wish I had taken this class about fifteen years earlier!” she shared.
For Gretchen, the accountability of the course, including the buddy system and coaching calls, helped her with the emotional challenges of writing a complex family memoir. Poetic License is a multiple award-winning memoir and was reviewed by The New York Times.
"I landed in exactly the right place, with the right people to find my voice, express it on the page, and see the book to print. It was the best investment I made in my writing career."
—Gretchen Cherington, Author of Poetic License
6 Tuesdays: September 20-October 25
4pm Pacific | 7pm Eastern
Featuring:
Carmen Maria Machado, Stephanie Foo, Mychal Denzel Smith,
Jonathan Kirsch, Brooke Warner & Linda Joy Myers
Early-bird price: $250