Memoir In a Year – Online

with Dionne Ford

THIS IS THE YEAR TO WRITE YOUR MEMOIR

Our Memoir in a Year program will help and support you during the long road from plotting to composition to revision and beyond. It’s a unique opportunity to join a writing cohort, study craft, workshop key scenes, measure your progress, and meet deadlines.

It’s a chance to devote an entire year to your project, giving it the attention and effort your work deserves. Memoir writer Dionne Ford will help you through the drafting process, whether you want to complete a draft, make revisions, or push yourself toward your own page goals.

Writing a memoir can be tough. You explore the past, examine your experience, write about the people and places close to you, overcome doubts or fears, and shape all of this into a narrative that connects with readers…

Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone!

This program will meet virtually for the 2026-27 cohort.

APPLICATIONS OPEN AUG. 4- SEPT. 7, 2026

APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

Dionne Ford is author of the memoir Go Back and Get It,  a 2024 finalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and an NPR book of the day. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Virginia Quarterly Review, LitHub, The Boston Globe, New Jersey Monthly, Rumpus and Ebony among other publications and won awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Newswomen’s Club of New York and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She has also received grants and fellowships from the Sustainable Arts Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Hedgebrook, MacDowell, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Yaddo among other organizations. She is co-editor of the anthology Slavery’s Descendants: Shared Legacies of Race and Reconciliation and editor of Lynchings in the North, an initiative of the Arthur L. Carter Institute of Journalism at New York University.
Dionne holds an MFA in creative writing from New York University and teaches creative writing at Drew University, Fordham University and with StoryStudio Chicago.

WHO SHOULD APPLY

Students at any stage of memoir drafting are encouraged to apply. You may be anywhere in the first draft – some students may have 200 pages; others may have nothing more than an idea and a first sentence. Work of any length is welcome. 

Participation in a workshop is not a prerequisite for this course. If you are newer to this process, but feel you have the ability, submit your writing and let us decide. We will work with you if you are ready to take the leap, and have a strong voice and POV.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

Specific topics covered during the class sessions include:

  • Finding the Story
  • Activating the Voice
  • Activating the Senses
  • Researching for Memoir
  • Using Your Archive
  • Finding the Frame: Structure and Shaping the Story
  • Language: Encountering, falling in love with and activating new words in your work.
  • Inspiration
  • Maintaining Your Writing Practice
  • Maintaining Your Writing Community

PLEASE NOTE: This application-based class is selective. We are looking for students with talent and drive, though familiarity with the workshop process or previous experience writing a book is not mandatory. This program is for memoirists who are ready to make a strong commitment to their work, and our waitlist for the course is typically very long. Students will be expected to participate in the full program.

HOW IT WORKS

Students will meet monthly for three-hour sessions to discuss craft, solve drafting challenges, workshop scenes, and share conversation. In between class sessions you’ll have plenty of time to write and generate new work while still staying in touch via StoryStudio’s private online class forum.

We’ve structured this program to provide maximum benefit without demanding too much time away from focusing on your own work. In addition to workshopping short scenes in class, participants will meet individually with Dionne for 100-page manuscript reviews.

Students enrolled in this course will receive 60% off all Master Classes throughout their time in the program, with no limit on how many classes you take. (Recent and upcoming writers include Alexander Chee, Pam Houston, Vu Tran, Garth Greenwell, Laura van den Berg, Kaveh Akbar, and Nick Flynn, among others.)

The class also includes optional evening social gatherings via Zoom, to be scheduled between Dionne and the cohort as desired. As a writer in our Memoir in a Year program, you’re considered a “VIP” at the studio with early-bird access to programs and events.

Throughout the course, you’ll have access to a private online forum for exchanging additional work and sharing articles and links of interest. And most importantly, these courses provide accountability check-ins to report your progress and struggles, and keep you writing.

YOUR WRITING COMMUNITY

Whether you’re already drafting query letters to send to literary agents or just focusing on revision, your cohort will provide the structure, companionship, feedback, good humor, and emotional support to help you see your project through.

You’ll also join StoryStudio’s larger community—in person and on social media—where you can connect with students from other classes, receive “first chance” invitations to special programming, and stay informed about literary events around the city.

The Memoir in a Year program has been going for ten years strong, and you will have the opportunity to benefit socially and professionally from a wonderful network of alumni, many of whom are experiencing publishing success.

The program fee is $2,750. 

This tuition includes:

11 sessions, meeting once per month for 11 months
A 100-page manuscript review with Dionne Ford
Discounts to our Master Class series
A private online chat forum
VIP status at the Studio
A literary community to take well beyond this program

2026-27 Schedule Meets on the Following Dates on Wednesday, 6:30pm – 9:30pm Central:

October 14, 2026
November 11, 2026
December 9, 2026
January 13, 2027
February 10, 2027
March 10, 2027
April 14, 2027
May 12, 2027
June 9, 2027
July 14, 2027
August 11, 2027

HOW TO APPLY

APPLY HERE!

APPLICATIONS OPEN AUG. 4 – SEPT. 7, 2026

This course is limited to 12 students and is submission based.

  1. You will be asked to submit a 10-page writing sample in a .doc or PDF. The sample can be an essay or memoir excerpt. 12-pt font and double-spaced is preferred.
  2. Someone who submits on the first day has the same chance as someone who submits on the last day, so don’t worry, and don’t rush.
  3. Payment isn’t due until after the application period is closed and acceptances have been sent out. We are happy to discuss payment plans with students who are accepted.
  4. NOTE: You can use this application form to apply for either Dionne Ford’s online cohort, or Jami Nakamura Lin’s in-person cohort, or asked to be considered for both cohorts. Dionne and Jami will coordinate in screening these dual-applications.

The next cohort will begin in October 2026. Please subscribe to our newsletter to get the most up-to-date information. When applications open, we will update this page as well. To be notified when details are available, please put your name on our waitlist and we’ll contact you.