Shared Stories: A Workshop for Family & Friends

A unique opportunity for family members or friends to come together and share stories and memories they may have never told before. Using collaborative exercises based on shared memories, author Jarred McGinnis will help you find a way to write those funny, profound, chaotic stories that shape your lives together.

You’ll explore the power of the five senses, dialogue, and vivid detail, and learn practical techniques to bring memories to life on the page. By the end of the session, you’ll leave with two original pieces of creative writing drawn from the stories you’ve shared.

You don’t need to think of yourself as a writer, everyone has a story worth telling! Come along in pairs and build new, meaningful connections through writing.

Jarred McGinnis is the co-founder of The Special Relationship, which was chosen for the British Council’s International Literature Showcase. His short fiction has been commissioned for BBC Radio 4 and appeared in literary journals in the UK, Ireland, Canada and US. He is an associate writer for Spread the Word, a fellow of the London Library Emerging Writers Programme and a writer-in-residence for First Story. He also has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, but mostly he inspires the able-bodied by using public transport and taking his

daughters to the playground. His debut novel, The Coward, was a BBC Two Between the Covers book club pick and won the Prix du premier roman étranger in France.