Explore the Art & Craft of Memoir and Get Extensive Feedback on Your Writing

You are invited to participate in a four week workshop with acclaimed author Prince Shakur. 

During the course, you'll learn how to write a memoir that connects deeply with readers, meets the needs of publishers, and aligns with your personal values. The course will help you focus on what matters most.

This course is designed for authors who are working on a draft of a memoir, or who have an idea they're ready to work on. If you have a complete draft, the course is only appropriate if you're ready to make revisions.

During this course, Prince Shakur will give you personalized feedback on your work, share in-depth lessons on the art of memoir, and introduce the class to an established literary agent.

Here's some of what you'll learn during the course:

  • How to structure your memoir so you can tell your story in the most impactful way possible
  • How to identify the themes that bring your story to life, and make it resonate with readers and publishers
  • How to write scenes in your life so they live and breathe on the page
  • How to define your memoir's goals and purpose, so you can focus on what matters most to you
  • The surprising ways research can add depth and impact to your story
  • Tools and strategies for implementing research
  • How to use your memoir to boost your writing career

During the course, you'll also study craft and research strategies from contemporary authors. Aided by this studying, you’ll explore your own personal themes and interests, so you can focus your story for maximum impact, while keeping in mind the needs and expectations of contemporary readers and publishers.

Prince’s debut memoir When They Tell You to Be Good was published by Tin House Books, and widely praised in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, and many other places.

He is a successfully published author, professor, and writing teacher who cares about connecting with students and helping them grow as writers.

Prince is offering extensive feedback on student writing, as a core part of this course. Each week you will have the opportunity to submit work for feedback from Prince. He will give you feedback on various aspects of the writing and planning process, including your proposed narrative arc, artist statement, key scenes, as well as detailed feedback on up to 10 full pages of your story.

The course starts on Monday, April 22nd and ends on Friday, May 17th, 2024. For those who need extra time, you will have a full six months to submit your work for feedback. You will also be welcome to attend office hours after the course is officially over, so you can stay part of our community. (At no additional cost.)

Because of the extensive personal feedback in this course, enrollment is strictly limited to 22 students. Once the course fills, we will immediately close enrollment.

Enroll Now for $600 $525 (Early Bird Tuition)

Meet with Literary Agent Michael Mungiello

Michael Mungiello, of Inkwell Management, will be meeting with the class to discuss querying, publishing, and finding the right agents. Michael represents both literary fiction and nonfiction, including memoir.

This is a unique chance to learn directly from a successful literary agent.

Inkwell Management represents many top selling authors, including many memoir and nonfiction authors. (Including debut authors.)

Michael will be visiting the class in a live Zoom meeting on May 18th, 11am-12pm ET. You will be welcome to submit your questions ahead of time. The event will be recorded for those who can't make it.

A Four Week Workshop on the Art & Craft of Writing Your Memoir

Explore the art of writing memoir and get extensive feedback on your writing – all with support from a successful author and instructor.

  • Four weeks of in-depth lessons on the art and craft of writing the memoir

  • Detailed feedback on your writing from Prince Shakur.

  • Personal guidance on the process of writing, researching, and crafting your memoir.

  • Access to live office hours with all of our instructors, even after the course has finished. (At no additional cost.)

  • Full access to our private community of writers, so you can network with your fellow students.

About Prince Shakur

Prince Shakur is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir When They Tell You to Be Good, published by Tin House Books. The memoir was called "magnetic" by TIME, and reviewed in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other places.

Prince's work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Vice, Outside Magazine, and the anthology It Came From Our Closet, among many other places. Shakur has also been awarded residencies as La Maison Baldwin and Norton Island, and is a winner of the Hurston/Wright Crossover Award.


Workshop Schedule

The course starts on Monday, April 22nd and ends on Friday, May 17th, 2024. The course comes with daily lessons you can study on your own time, and interaction with Prince Shakur. Everything is provided online, through the digital learning platform hosted by Thinkific.

Note that you will have up to six months after the course finishes to submit your writing for feedback. Also note that you will have access to office hours even after the course is complete.

  • Daily lessons, available to study any time on our online learning platform, hosted by Thinkific.

  • Personal feedback on every lesson via email, our online discussion platform, or our private Facebook Group.

  • Weekly opportunities to submit your work for detailed feedback from the instructor.

Enroll Now

Enrollment is strictly limited to 22 students.
The early bird tuition is available until Monday, April 15th.

Reviews of this Workshop

5 star rating

Prince Shakur is wonderful!

Joanna Grace Farmer

I didn't know what to expect from the memoir course with Prince Shakur and feel blessed that he gave of his time, attention, and energy to make the course work. He provided detailed feedback that's helping me understand not just why I need to writ...

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I didn't know what to expect from the memoir course with Prince Shakur and feel blessed that he gave of his time, attention, and energy to make the course work. He provided detailed feedback that's helping me understand not just why I need to write my story, but also how. He gave generously of his expertise and I witnessed him do the same with other students. Prince is wonderful and I highly rate him for continued courses. He's of great benefit to Authors Publish.

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5 star rating

Delving Into Memoir as a Writer

Lisa Gavin

This course is well-done, helping the student to delve much deeper into the aspects of writing memoir. The daily lessons help you to consider ways to improve your craft, and provide opportunity to have discussions with other writers. A valuable cl...

Read More

This course is well-done, helping the student to delve much deeper into the aspects of writing memoir. The daily lessons help you to consider ways to improve your craft, and provide opportunity to have discussions with other writers. A valuable class for anyone interested in writing memoir.

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5 star rating

Finding a new lens

Sharon Pearce-McLeay

Prince was a pleasure to work with. I have been studying and writing memoir for years. I wasn't expecting anything different than previous training. My expectations were wrong. Prince took us on a journey from our inner workings and thoughts to ou...

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Prince was a pleasure to work with. I have been studying and writing memoir for years. I wasn't expecting anything different than previous training. My expectations were wrong. Prince took us on a journey from our inner workings and thoughts to our responsibility as artists. He helped draw me out of a perspective I'd been stuck on for years and look at my experience through the lens of societal trends and events. I was able to find new ways to build scenes and put a memoir together thanks to Prince.

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FAQ

  • How is the course structured?

    The course is designed to be flexible, to fit a wide variety of schedules and timezones.

    Each week, we will release five lessons that you can study on your own time. These will be a mix of text-based lessons, recommended essays, and pre-recorded lectures. Each lesson comes with text-based discussion with the instructor and the class. Some participants choose to do these lessons all at once, while others spread them throughout the week.

    At the end of each week, you will have the opportunity to submit an assignment to Prince Shakur for in-depth feedback. Prince will then email you the feedback, and you are welcome to ask as many follow up questions as needed.

    There will also be two office hour sessions held via Zoom, which will be recorded for those who cannot attend live. They have not yet been scheduled.

    You will also be invited to future office hour sessions at no additional cost, so you can continue to get support, meet other writers, and stay connected to our community.

    Note, you will also have a full six months to complete the course and submit your work for feedback from the instructor, so you can complete the course at a pace that works for you.

  • How much time will the course require?

    Overall, expect to spend around 30 minutes a day on the course. Some days will require less work, some days will require more.

    Lessons are released weekly, which gives you flexibility. Based on our experience with other courses, some students do the bulk of their work in one or two days each week, while others spend a little bit of time each day on our courses.

  • How many students will be allowed to enroll?

    Because of the personal feedback Prince is providing, the workshop is strictly limited to 22 students. Once we reach that number we will immediately close enrollment.