MSA Museum hosts spring lifewriting seminars
This spring, aspiring memoirists, lifewriters, and family historians in the Fraser Valley will have a chance to learn about the finer aspects of the craft thanks to a series of lifewriting seminars that the MSA Museum in Abbotsford is hosting. The first event in the increasingly popular “Lifewriting Made Easy” series is a free, two-hour information session on March 21(9–11 a.m.) that provides an overview of the planning, writing, editing, and designing process along with a question and answer session.
Subsequent seminars include a three-hour session on book design and production ($30, March 28), an all-day seminar on writing ($60, May 23), and a three-hour session on interviewing family members and friends ($30, June 27). The seminars will be held at the MSA Museum (Trethewey House) at 2313 Ware Street in Abbotsford. Parking is free, and pre-registration is mandatory.
“The winter seminars were a great success,” said Dorothy van der Ree, outgoing executive director of the MSA Museum Society. “Participants tell us how helpful it is to learn about the skills and strategies that they need to start on their personal or family histories. Most of all, however, they speak of how encouraged they feel — they come away enthusiastic and ready to start. I’ve attended several of the seminars, and the level of engagement is amazing. The instructor’s enthusiasm is contagious.”
Leading the seminars is Abbotsford writer / editor / personal historian Philip Sherwood, whose company lifewriters.ca specialises in helping individuals, families, organisations, and communities tell and preserve their stories in book form.
In addition to the seminars, the MSA Museum offers other services to lifewriters. These include free one-on-one consultations, a list of do-it-yourself resources, and several fee-based services.
For more information about the seminars and to register and receive a syllabus, contact the Museum at 604.853.0313 or by email at info@msamuseum.ca, or visit www.msamuseum.ca.
For more information:
Kelly Railton,
Interim Executive Director,
MSA Museum Society
2313 Ware Street
Abbotsford BC V2S 3C6
Tel. 604.853.0313
Email: Kelly.R@msamuseum.ca
