What we’re about
Memoir Mentors is a safe space to support, inspire and motivate memoirists and writers of personal essays.
There’s nothing quite like a writing group to take your writing to the next level. However, writing a memoir has a unique set of challenges and rewards.
Maybe you’ve tried writing groups before but were afraid to share because your writing is too personal or you don’t relate to the challenges that fiction writers face.
Maybe you’re afraid to join a writing group because you think everyone will be more advanced than you, maybe you worry that people will judge you. Fear not.
Memoir mentors is an amazing group of individuals; some are already published, some are just getting started, and some have been working on their memoirs for years. Each and every one of us has an incredible story to share and is committed to lifting each other up to achieve each other’s goals.
We meet every Tuesday for writing sessions, workshops, book club, and author Q&A sessions.
If you'd like to donate to keep the community running, please do! ❤️
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?campaign_id=HW6S55KBMASLJ
Find out more at: https://memoirmentors.com/
Sign up to the Memoir Mentors Mailing List here:
http://eepurl.com/g29101
Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/memoirmentors
Upcoming events
31
•OnlineBook Club: Once Our Lives: Life, Death, and Love in the Middle Kingdom
OnlineIn the Memoir Mentors Book Club, we explore memoirs through a writer’s lens. We go beyond the surface of the stories. We dissect memoirs, identifying elements we can integrate into our own writing and those we might want to steer clear of. Our discussions center around the strengths and weaknesses of the writing, providing valuable insights for enriching our writer toolboxes.
Come on by for insightful conversations, even if you haven’t read the featured book.
This time, we'll be discussing the award winning: Once Our Lives: Life, Death, and Love in the Middle Kingdom by Qin Sun Stubis.
Book club questions can be found here (When I get around to posting them): https://memoirmentors.com/book-club-questions/
### Live Author Q&A the Following Week!
I'm thrilled to announce that Qin will be joining us for a special Q&A session on October 16 - Join Here.
Come to the book club ready to share your thoughts, reactions, and questions—we’ll gather those to shape the conversation with the author the following week!
Once Our Lives is the true story of four generations of Chinese women and how their lives were threatened by powerful and cruel ancient traditions, historic upheavals, and a man whose fate, cursed by an ancient superstition, dramatically altered their destinies. The book takes the reader on an exotic journey filled with luxurious banquets, lost jewels, babies sold in opium dens, kidnappings by pirates, and a desperate flight from death in the desert – seen through the eyes of a man for whom the truth would spell disaster and a lonely, beautiful girl with three identities.
Awards for Once Our Lives:
MS. MAGAZINE's choice for "Reads for the Rest of Us"
GLAMOUR UK Best New Books for June
2023 Gold Winner - Nonfiction Book Awards
2023 First Place Winner - Chanticleer International Book Awards' (CIBAs)
Nellie Bly Awards for Journalistic Nonfiction
2023 Readers' Favorite Book Awards
2023 PenCraft Book Awards #1 winner for literary excellence in culture/history
2023 Best Book Awards winner in cross-genre nonfiction💛 Support Our Community
If you’ve found value in our events, consider supporting Memoir Mentors:
📬 Subscribe on Substack for insights, resources, and writing inspiration
💳 Donate via PayPal
💳 Donate via Stripe
Your support helps keep these events going and makes future workshops possible—thank you!Sign up to the Memoir Mentors Mailing List:
http://eepurl.com/g29101Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/memoirmentorsFind out more about our group at:
https://memoirmentors.com/11 attendees
•OnlineAuthor Q&A with Qin Sun Stubis
OnlineWe’re excited to welcome Qin Sun Stubis for a special live Q&A following our October 9th book club discussion of her powerful memoir, Once Our Lives, Life, Death, and Love in the Middle Kingdom.
About Qin
Qin Sun Stubis was born in a Shanghai shantytown during the Great Chinese Famine and came of age amid the Cultural Revolution. As a child, she witnessed her father’s imprisonment for speaking truth to power. Her family found refuge in stories—her mother’s vivid tales and the Western literature she discovered through a borrowed radio, a British teacher, and work as a library assistant.She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and English Literature at Shanghai Institute of Foreign Languages. With the help of a U.S. Senator, she secured a visa to study in the U.S.—where she went on to earn a master’s degree. Today, she writes essays, poems, stories, and original Chinese tall tales, blending Eastern and Western storytelling traditions.
Her debut memoir, Once Our Lives: Life, Death and Love in the Middle Kingdom (Guernica Editions, 2023), traces four generations of Chinese women through famine, revolution, and superstition. It made Amazon’s #1 new-release list for 41 days and has received recognition, including:
- Readers’ Favorite 2023 International Book Award for Cultural Nonfiction
- First Place, Chanticleer International Nellie Bly Award for Journalistic Nonfiction
Her writing is praised for its folkloric richness, emotional depth, and ability to illuminate overlooked chapters of history with grace and clarity. For over 15 years, she has also served as a columnist for the Santa Monica Star and other publications.
***
And if you'd like to join our book discussion on October 9th (without the author), RSVP here:
👉 Memoir Mentors Book Club - October 9💛 Support Our Community
If you’ve found value in our events, consider supporting Memoir Mentors:
Subscribe on Substack for insights, resources, and writing inspiration
💳 Donate via PayPal
💳 Donate via Stripe
Your support helps keep these events going and makes future workshops possible—thank you!
Sign up to the Memoir Mentors Mailing List:
http://eepurl.com/g29101
Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/memoirmentors
Find out more about our group at:
https://memoirmentors.com/10 attendees
•OnlineMemoir Mentors - ONLINE Speaking Your Story
OnlineMEMOIR/PERSONAL ESSAY/CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITERS/LIFE POETS welcome!
On the fourth Thursday of every month, we share finished personal essays, chapters, or scenes from our memoirs.
Please select something that you can read aloud in 5-10 minutes or less.
This is a safe space devoted to authors of memoirs/personal essays/creative nonfiction.If you don't have anything ready to read, feel free to come to show your support and be inspired!
💛 Support Our Community
If you’ve found value in our events, consider supporting Memoir Mentors:
📬 Subscribe on Substack for insights, resources, and writing inspiration
💳 Donate via PayPal
💳 Donate via Stripe
Your support helps keep these events going and makes future workshops possible—thank you!Find us on Facebook: at https://www.facebook.com/memoirmentors
Sign up to the Memoir Mentors Mailing List here:
http://eepurl.com/g2910112 attendees
•OnlineMemoir Mentors - ONLINE Write then Read -- 7pm Munich, 10am Pacific
OnlineMEMOIR/PERSONAL ESSAY/CREATIVE NONFICTION WRITERS/LIFE POETS welcome!
The Zoom passcode is: 679039
Come join us for 90 minutes of focused memoir writing time, followed by time to share what you wrote.
7:00 - 7:25 - Introductions and intention setting
7:25 - 8:55 - 90 minutes of devoted writing/editing on your memoir/personal essay
8:55 - 10:00 - Anyone who would like to share may read for five minutes.The preference is to read what you've written during the session to motivate us to really get busy during those 90 minutes. However, if there is a previously written piece that you need feedback on, that is fine as well. Perfection is an illusion so don't feel ashamed to share something that you do not feel is perfect.
Let us know before you read what kind of feedback you would like, if any. If you would just like positive encouragement, that's totally fine! If you want something more constructive, we're happy to offer that as well. We have a wonderfully kind and welcoming group, so don't be intimidated!
Reading out loud (and listening to others!) is a wonderful experience.
This is a safe space devoted to authors of memoirs/personal essays/creative nonfiction. Please come support and inspire each other and make progress together! We have sessions every Thursday.
Find out more at: https://memoirmentors.com/
Sign up to the Memoir Mentors Mailing List here:
http://eepurl.com/g29101Find us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/memoirmentors6 attendees
Past events
194
