Creative Writing Masterclass: Writing Memories Together

Name: Creative Writing Masterclass: Writing Memories Together
Start: 2026-10-26T10:30:00+00:00
Location: British Library

British Library

96 Euston Road

Mon 26 Oct · 10:30 · £90

London

Get tickets · £90

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About this event

This masterclass is uniquely designed for two people: you and your family member or close friend. Booking 1 ticket reserves you two spaces.Join us for a creative writing masterclass uniquely designed for you and a family member or close friend. Using collaborative exercises based on shared memories and family tales, award-winning author Jarred McGinnis will help you find a way to write those funny, profound, chaotic stories that shape your lives together.Throughout the day, participants will learn techniques for drawing out memories and some expanded pieces of creative writing based on one or two memories. We will spend time on the issues of craft when writing from memory. We will see how the successful memoirist makes use of the novel’s narrative and descriptive techniques to make their story more fully-realised. We will spend time on the importance in writing of using all five senses, dialogue, and detail. We will work on the effectiveness of evoking place and historical context by bringing in examples from contemporary British and world literature. We will also address the ethical issues when writing about family and real people.This Masterclass is led by Eccles Institute Fellow and author Jarred McGinnis.

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Follow the thread

From this venue’s worldWinter Reading RoomsJanuary is for ideas. These are the rooms where London still thinks in long form — independent bookshops, library reading rooms, and societies that predate the internet by centuries.From this venue’s worldLiterary LondonIndependent bookshops, reading rooms and literary houses where the city meets its writers.LineageBritish literary scholarshipTrace other London rooms working in this tradition.LineageKnowledge and research institutionTrace other London rooms working in this tradition.LineagePublic intellectual discourseTrace other London rooms working in this tradition.Adjacent this weekCafé PhiloInstitut Français London Adjacent this weekCafe Philo (in English)Ciné Lumière Adjacent this weekMemories of Care: Trans+ Contributions to Health, Culture and Social JusticeWellcome Collection

A different kind of night

Not the same tradition as the lineage above — a genuinely different thread to pull, if you want one.

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