Local Authors Writing Workshop: Memoir & Personal Essay

Welcome to the Mystic & Noank Library’s Local Authors Writing Workshop Series for the summer of 2024. This is the fourth year we’ve run the series as part of our adult summer reading program, connecting readers and aspiring writers with authors who live in or near our community. You may attend each of these workshops either in person or virtually. You must register for each workshop separately.

Upcoming workshops:
Historical Fiction with Lisa Hall Brownell. Mon, July 22, 7 – 8:30.
Poetry with Sean Frederick Forbes. Mon, July 29, 7 – 8:30.

Writing the Difficult Topic: Memoir & Personal Essay with Mary Collins
Often the best nonfiction wrestles with the most difficult and emotional topics, which lends it great power, but also presents the writer with unique obstacles. How do you write about people you know, especially in a fraught narrative? What sort of legal issues do you need to worry about? How do you step away from your own emotions and find the best story or essay? In the end, you want it to matter to a general reader, not just you. How can you make that happen? This workshop is ideal for anyone writing true first-person stories, either essay or book-length.

Bio
Mary Collins directs the Writing Minors at Central Connecticut State University and teaches a nonfiction workshop every summer for the Yale Summer Writing Program. Winner of the teaching award at CCSU, Collins’ books, features and essays have received national awards and recognition. Prior to moving to CT in 2007, she worked as a writer and editor for National Geographic and the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. For more, visit www.marycollinswriter.com.