No chairs flew, but a few swears did during 826 Valencia’s fiery adult seminar on memoir writing and publishing. The event featured memoir writers Sean Wilsey, author of Oh the Glory of It All, Pat Montandon, who wrote Oh the Hell of It All, Peggy Orenstein with her memoir entitled Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, An Oscar, An Atomic Bomb, A Romantic Night and One Woman’s Quest to Become a Mother, and Lisa Gray-Garcia, writer of Criminal of Poverty: Growing up Homeless in America. Oscar Villalon, book editor for The San Francisco Chronicle, moderated the seminar, helping to bring out all the very unique perspectives of the panelists. The dynamic of the night was eclectic, considering Pat and Sean represented a mother-son duo, Peggy, a successful reporter for the New York Times Magazine, and Lisa a community activist. None of the nitty-gritty was spared.
Lisa challenged everyone to see the first person voice as revolutionary, and she spoke earnestly about the level of dedication and discipline necessary to write a memoir. “The world of publishing is a privileged space,” she said. “If you don’t have the connections, you better have the intention.” She described her habit of going to bed at nine when she put her son to sleep, setting an alarm for 2:00 AM, writing for two hours, and going back to bed for two hours before her son would wake her at 6:00 AM. She claimed to feel oddly refreshed.
Sean described some of the benefits unique to the memoir genre. For example, publishers are pleased with the cost-effectiveness of memoir publicity. As Sean noted, “memoir sells because the main character can tour with the book.” Additionally, Sean also pointed out how memoir offers a wide selection of material. “Society doesn’t mind offending people as much as it used to.”
This seminar sparked a lot of passion amongst the panelists, and afforded the audience some important insight on the world of writing and publishing a memoir.
Adult seminars are offered monthly on a variety of topics centered on writing and publishing. All proceeds support 826 Valencia projects.
