THIS CLASS HAS BEEN CONVERTED TO ZOOM FORMAT. The first chapter of any book determines whether a reader will want to keep reading. It must do a lot of work quickly and beautifully, but this is a difficult task, particularly in memoir when we are trying to figure out what parts of a life to include. In this workshop, a small cohort of writers will submit the prologue/first chapter of their memoir-in-progress for group discussion. We’ll help fellow writers chisel their pages into gold. We’ll also read the first chapters from a variety of memoirs to use as guides and examples. This class is appropriate for any writer of memoir, essays, or creative nonfiction who has a full or partial manuscript draft and wants to join a supportive workshop environment.

TESSA FONTAINE is the author of The Electric Woman: A Memoir in Death-Defying Acts, A New York Times Editors' Choice; A Southern Living Best Book of 2018; An Amazon Editors' Best Book of 2018; A Refinery29 Best Book of 2018; A New York Post Most Unforgettable Book of 2018. Tessa spent the 2013 season performing with the last American traveling circus sideshow, the World of Wonders. An essay about the sideshow won the 2016 AWP Intro Award in Nonfiction. Her writing can be found in Outside online, The New York Times, Glamour, The Believer, LitHub, Creative Nonfiction, The Normal School, Seneca Review, DIAGRAM, New Orleans Review, and more. She recently won a Tin House residency to work on her next book, a novel, which will be published by FSG in 2023.