Join Roz Bellamy and experiment with turning your family stories into creative pieces in various forms.

We will examine pieces of writing from writers who have embedded their family stories into their novels, poems and memoirs. You will have the opportunity to try writing about your family history in two different genres (e.g. memoir, fiction, different forms of poetry, script, graphic form), to see what these different forms bring up for you and how they change the story you are telling.

Bring along any special artefacts you have (letters, postcards, diaries, photographs, etc.) or even just your recollections, and start the process of bringing your family stories to life in engaging, experimental forms.

Participants will gain a better understanding of:

• Playing and experimenting with form and style – family stories don’t have to be dry historical accounts.
• What memoir and other genres have in common, and the different insights they offer.
• Analysing very striking examples of family stories to discover what makes family stories engaging, personal and universal.
• Building confidence across different genres and forms. See what nuances different forms bring to your stories.
• Learning how to use artefacts and memories and embedding these in their own creative work.

This workshop is presented by the Writers SA No Limits: Young Regional Writers program, however all ages and locations are very welcome to attend this online workshop.

About Roz Bellamy

Roz Bellamy (they/them) is a writer and the Editor-in-Chief at Archer Magazine. Their writing has appeared in Black Inc.'s Growing Up Queer in Australia, the Guardian, the Sydney Morning Herald, Kill Your Darlings, Meanjin, Overland and SBS. Roz is a PhD candidate at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) at La Trobe University researching the impact of life writing on young LGBTQ+ people. Roz's memoir, Mood, which was longlisted for the  Kill Your Darlings Unpublished Manuscript Award in 2020, is about mental illness, queerness and Jewish identity, and is forthcoming with Wakefield Press in 2022.

This workshop is a FREE event as part of No Limits.  This workshop is presented by Writers SA, in collaboration with Our Town Berri, Part of Things and the Loxton Waikerie District Council to support Our Stories and History Blog outcomes. 

This workshop will be delivered via Zoom. Instructions will be emailed to you, please check your spam/junk folders. 

—Our Youth Membership category also includes a subscription to Voiceworks. Voiceworks is a national literary journal that features exciting new writing and art by young Australians. Join here.