LET’S WRITE A MEMOIR ESSAY:Sally Cranswick

The memoir essay is a wonderful form which allows the writer to explore the beauty of an encapsulated memory or feeling without committing to a whole novel. During this workshop series we will look at examples of wonderful memoir essays from different genres and we’ll discuss ways to shape our own narratives around the essay form, using structure, voice, style, and theme, how to write about people, memories, and truth, in a way that heals not harms, and how to extend one essay into a collection of work.

Bio: Sally Cranswick is a writer, story coach and workshop facilitator with a special interest in memoir and life writing. She is a Creative Writing Lecturer at the University of Cape Town’s Department for Extra Mural Studies and has written many stories, features and columns for magazines and newspapers. Her collection of short stories, Women out of Water (Modjaji Books), was shortlisted for the SALA Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award in 2022 and her novel, Of All Things We Need Hope, is due for release in 2024. She has an MA in Creative Writing from UCT and a BA in Creative & Media Writing from Middlesex University, London. Before settling in Cape Town, Sally was a singer and lived in many countries around the world.