UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
“This week was trajectory-changing. It opened up spaces in my brain that I have returned to again and again.” – L.O.
I’ve been teaching memoir and personal narrative nonfiction to writers of all skill levels since 2011. I teach both on Zoom and in-person, from single-day to multi-week curricula. I also facilitate ongoing groups of writing students that meet on Zoom weekly to share work, receive feedback, and talk writing and reading. These groups are currently closed to new members. If you’d like to arrange a workshop for your organization or school, please contact me.
June 14-19, 2026: TO BE ABSOLUTELY YOURSELF
PAINTROCK CANYON RANCH, WYOMING
New! A five-night retreat at the Paintrock Canyon Ranch, where – amidst the dramatic western landscape, inspired by horseback rides that lead us worlds away from our regular lives – we’ll cultivate, harness, and make writing driven by our obsessions. In addition to practical and generative exercises, we’ll read work by writers including Melissa Febos, Claire Cameron, and CJ Hauser. Participants will share work and receive constructive feedback from the instructor and the group. All levels of writing and riding experience are welcome. The only prerequisites are a willingness to explore new landscapes on horseback, and a desire to use writing to better understand your life.
OCTOBER 26 - November 2, 2026:
Tiny true stories & Sketches: a micro-memoir retreat
ALMERÍA, SPAIN
Spend a week with me, writer-illustrator Hallie Bateman, and award-winning writer Nadine Kenney Johnstone at a private villa in Andalusia, learning what makes short personal writing land with clarity and emotional weight. Learn how words and images can work together, and capture the trip itself through micro-memoirs in both visual and written form. For writers, artists, yes — but also for everyone.
OCTOBER 2-9, 2027:
Small Moment, Big Story: WRITING REAL LIFE
JURANÇON, FRANCE
I led a sold-out writing retreat at Clos Mirabel in the spring of 2025, and it was the highlight of my year, a literal waking dream. Join me in 2027, in autumn this time, for another extraordinary week at this 18th-century manor house in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. We’ll spend mornings in class by the wood stove, practicing an approach to memoir and personal essay that employs, as its springboard, life’s everyday objects, places, and habits, using the mundane to reveal and write what matters to us most. In the afternoons, we’ll write, rest, explore, or share work. We’ll enjoy evenings at the table, sharing a four-course meal and local wines. You’ll leave with a handful of fresh drafts and ideas to carry you forward. All skill levels are welcome.
“I've taken writing classes on and off over the years and have rarely experienced the talent in facilitation and teaching that you brought to us. You created a safe supportive space immediately and made everyone, no matter where they were in their writing, feel welcome and encouraged. I also really appreciated your practical tips and showing your own processes; it made the writing process feel attainable, rather than a secret only a lucky few get to unlock.”—B.G.