3 Month Short Memoir Intensive: writing the memoirella

The memoirella is a great form of literature that fits somewhere between an essay and a memoir. The term was coined by Banana Pitch Press’s Founding Editor, Michelle Kicherer, who is here to teach her first-ever memoirella class.

In this class we will read a few novellas to borrow from their medium-length structures, as well as several essays and memoirs. We’ll pick these works apart on a craft level, asking what these works did to make them successful, then apply those tools to your work.

The first few weeks of the class will be focused on generative writing for your memoirella, and throughout the cohort we will have different types of workshops: one focused on opening pages; one on back-of-the-book summaries and 1-page pitches; and chapter excerpts. We will conclude the course with some talks around publishing, and there will be an option to add on a full review for anyone with a completed manuscript.

This class is meant to be as helpful as possible, but also fun! We’ll learn from each other and foster a positive and productive classroom environment.

Course Takeaways
● How to start a memoirella with a hook and purpose
● What other novellas, essays and memoirs set up for and what those stories deliver
● How to structure your memoirella
● How and when to shrink it down to an essay, or expand it into a full-length memoir

Materials
Please bring a notebook and writing utensil to each class for brief in-class writing activities. I highly encourage pen and papering for the exercises we’ll be doing.

A Note on Workshops
Workshops are not mandatory, but are a wonderful way to receive feedback on your work. Each writer will have several opportunities to submit their work for review and written feedback. Please do plan on reading and providing feedback on your peers’ work so we can all support each other equally.

Reading List

Includes work from Stephanie Foo, Rachel Kushner, Susan Kiyoto Ito, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Chloé Cooper Jones, Karl Ove Knausgaard, and others