Workshop on Memoir

A nationally known authority on memoir as a literary genre and on the writing of memoirs, Thomas Larson of San Diego, Calif., will hold two events in Huntington July 5-6.
Larson will sign copies of his books, “The Memoir and the Memoirst” and “Spirituality and the Writer: A Personal Inquiry” at the Red Caboose Gift Shop in Heritage Station on Memorial Drive from 2 to 5 p.m., Friday July 5.
The following morning Larson will conduct a three-hour workshop for people of all skill levels in conceptualizing, drafting and publishing life-based stories. The workshop will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 1015 Fifth Avenue from 9:30 am. To 12:30 p.m.
Publishers Place, Inc., a Huntington-based 501-c-3 not-for-profit publisher, will host the memoir-writing workshop. John Patrick Grace, executive director, will introduce Larson and also be available to add insights.
Grace has led 59 sessions since 2001 of The Life Writing Class, at venues in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky. Similarly Larson has led memoir-writing classes in the San Diego area for over a decade. He has also been a staff writer for The San Diego Reader for the past 20 years.
He also has taught nonfiction writing at San Diego City College and in the MFA program at Ashland University (Ohio).
He is himself the author of a work of personal recollection: “The Sanctuary of Illness: A Memoir of Heart Disease.”
In his workshop Larson will challenge participants to confront questions such as “Is memory reliable?” “How can one uncover the truth about one’s own self and life events?” “What makes a reader want to pick up a memoir and dive into it?”
To preregister or for further information contact Publishers Place at 304-617-1292 or email publishersplace@gmail.com

Workshop is $55 at the door or $45 if preregistered. Bring laptops or notebooks. Refreshments served.