This workshop was offered in 2025. Sign up for our email list to receive updates for this year’s conference.
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The Art of Obsession:
A Memoir Workshop
Writing Workshop in New Jersey
January 17-20, 2025
Led by Jiordan Castle
How do we decide what to obsess over and what to omit in memoir? In this workshop, we’ll mine key moments and connections from our lives as we explore practical and creative methods for pinning them to the page. Together, we’ll read experimental memoir and nonfiction excerpts that sit at the intersection of truth and memory, then apply our findings to prompt-based writing exercises and share as a group. Come with a few pages of a work in progress or start something new in this supportive workshop environment.
*Limited to just 10 participants.*
“I came into the getaway not knowing what to expect and left counting down the days until I could come back. It was easy to take risks and attempt something new with such a wonderful community of writers who all expressed such support and encouragement. It was something that I did not realize I was missing in my life until I experienced it. Thank you!”
~ Trista, Toms River, NJ
Jiordan Castle
Jiordan Castle is the author of Disappearing Act, a young adult memoir in verse, which was recognized as a Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild. Her poetry and prose appear in The New Yorker, The Millions, HuffPost, The Rumpus and elsewhere. She is a regular contributor to the LA-based food and culture magazine Compound Butter and has led cross-genre workshops for Blue Stoop, Writing Co-Lab and other organizations. Originally from New York, she has a BA in Writing from the University of San Francisco and an MFA in Poetry from Hunter College. She lives in Philadelphia with her family. Read an essay by Jiordan and visit her website.
