Memoir is sometimes known as the ugly step-sister of fiction. It is a genre that confuses literary critics and has its practitioners swearing that they will never write another memoir as long as they live. Why is this genre so daunting to writers and so popular with readers? This is a workshop for anyone who is thinking of starting a memoir project but doesn’t know exactly where or how to begin. We will explore the ethics of memoir writing and the challenges and limitations of the form, including self-care while drafting and the responsibility of telling our versions of the truth. We will also discuss various examples of excellent memoir openings, and participants will learn to write a compelling opening for their own memoir.

About the facilitator

Lindsay Wong is the author of the critically-acclaimed, award winning and bestselling memoir The Woo-Woo (2018). It has been optioned for TV by Escape Artists/NBC. She has also written a YA novel for Simon Pulse entitled My Summer of Love and Misfortune. Wong is the author of the short story collection Tell Me Pleasant Things about Immortality and a novel The Cursed Bridesmaids of Maxyne-Marilyn Leung (Penguin Random House Canada, forthcoming). She has a BFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and an MFA in literary nonfiction from Columbia University. Wong is a Part-Time Lecturer in Creative Nonfiction in the Optional-Residency MFA Program at The University of British Columbia. She is based in Burnaby, BC.