Memoir Writing
The East India Club, 16 St James’s Square, London SW1Y 4LH Thursday 3rd May 2018
Some of the very best memoirs are not by famous people. Take our patron saint, Jeremy Lewis, the former deputy editor of The Oldie and a Grub Street Irregular. He chronicled his career – the run-ins with writers, agents, publishers and book people – in three volumes which were described by the likes of John Carey as a ‘sheer pleasure from start to finish’. Judging by the volume of submissions to our Memory Lane column, our readers also have a few tales to tell, from encounters with wartime heroes to the day-to-day. Now’s the time to turn those 500-word submissions into something more substantial.
With the help of Rebecca de Saintonge, a co-founder of Lifelines Press, who has run several writing
courses with The Oldie, we will arm you with the tools to get that memoir written and published – for the joy of the generations to come.
9am Coffee/tea 9.15-9.30am Welcome by Rebecca de Saintonge 9.30-11am Workshop one – Rebecca de Saintonge on Kickstarting the Memory: Unlocking the Past 11-11.15am Coffee/tea break 11.15am-12.45pm Workshop two –
Lawrence Norfolk on The Sky Is Never Blue: Descriptive Writing – How to Avoid the Pitfalls 12.45-1.30pm Buffet lunch with wine 1.30-2pm Andrew Lownie on how to approach agents 2-3.30pm Workshop three – Dea Birkett on ‘He Said, She Said, I Said’: Making Dialogue Work for You 3.30-3.45pm Tea/coffee break 3.45-4.30pm Workshop four – Rebecca de Saintonge on All About Me: Creating Yourself as a Character C