Writing is tough. Publishing is a difficult process with a steep learning curve. Memoirs come with the additional pressure of being deeply personal. The closeness of the self to the manuscript can make every part of the writing and publishing processes harder. On Wednesday, February 10, the St. Louis Publishers Association will host memoir authors Terry Mulligan, Kathleen Finneran, and Rick Skwiot for a panel discussion about their experiences writing and publishing memoirs. What did they learn? How did they developed their writing skills? How did they came to terms with “killing their darlings” in editing. Memoir is a cross between nonfiction and fiction. Find out how these writers walked the line.
No matter what genre you write, come hear inspiring testimony and valuable writing and publishing advice from these accomplished authors. Doors open at 6:30pm for networking, the meeting starts at 7:00pm at THE HEIGHTS Community Center in Richmond Heights.
Terry Baker Mulligan is the author of Sugar Hill: Where the Sun Rose Over Harlem, which won the 2012 IPPY Award for Adult Multicultural Nonfiction and two 2013 Benjamin Franklin Awards for Multicultural Writing and Autobiography / Memoir Writing. Her novel and second book, Afterlife in Harlem, was published in October 2014. She has studied fiction and nonfiction writing at Washington University’s Summer Writers Institute and the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. A former writing center Instructor at St. Louis Community College, Terry was born and raised in Harlem and frequently gives talks on Harlem’s history and culture. She now lives in St. Louis, where she was named one of the city’s Top Fifty Authors by a government committee.
Kathleen Finneran is the author of the memoir The Tender Land: A Family Love Story, for which she won the Whiting Writer’s Award. Her essays have been published in various anthologies, including The Place That Holds Our History, Seeking St. Louis: Voices from a River City, The “M” Word: Writers on Same-Sex Marriage, and My Bookstore: Writers Celebrate Their Favorite Places to Browse, Read, and Shop. She has received the Missouri Arts Council Writers’ Biennial Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is currently the writer-in-residence for creative nonfiction at Washington University.
Rick Skwiot is the author of two memoirs: the critically acclaimed Christmas at Long Lake: A Childhood Memory and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico: Memoir of a Sensual Quest for Spiritual Healing. His four published novels include the St. Louis-based mystery Fail, which depicts corruption and malpractice in urban politics and public education. He also works as a feature writer, writing coach, and editor. He has taught fiction writing at Washington University in St. Louis and served as the 2004 Distinguished Visiting Writer at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He lives in Key West.
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