Finish Your Memoir in 2026: an extended program with Kris Kneen
Are you ready to accept the challenge and prioritise your own work for a change? Or are you a writer with experience in another form who is looking to tell their own story? Commit to your memoir and make 2026 your year to get it done!
Applications close 28 January 2026.
Dates: There will be two classes. Please indicate your preference for either 6:00-8:00pm (AEDT) Mondays, 2 March - Monday 7 December 2026, or 6:00-8:00pm (AEDT) Tuesdays, 3 March - Tuesday 8 December 2026. Please see below for a list of all class dates.
Delivery: Online.
Fees: $3250 or $3150 for Varuna alumni. Payment terms are negotiable if you cannot pay the whole fee upfront.
Applications close: 5pm (AEDT) Wednesday 28 January 2026.
Places: 8 participants will be selected for each class (small group).
“Kris Kneen’s memoir course was extraordinary: both the structure, insights, writing prompts and depth of engagement with the wider field of memoir writing, with other writers in the course, and with what it opened up about my own project. I knew it would be good - but it was better”
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In this nine-month online workshop series Kris Kneen will lead a small group of writers to work together with the aim of each writer finishing a draft of their memoir. Writers with an existing draft who wish to finish a complete redraft will also get a lot out of this program.
Examining your own unique writing process and putting in place support rails, this Varuna masterclass will look at different aspects of the memoir writing process, break everything into small, manageable blocks, and work towards setting deadlines and meeting those deadlines with the support of a cohort of writers at a similar stage of their writing process.
We will use the expertise within the group as well as the guidance of some of the greatest and most innovative memoir writers to examine your own work, find the cracks and rework the material until you are happy with the final result.
This is a small group program for 8 participants.
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In this course participants will:
Examine your own writing practice and adjust your work plan to suit your personal style.
Meet and get to know other writers at a similar point in their memoir writing process who will become your writing cohort, your support crew and your cheer squad.
Keep regular personal deadlines to help you stay on track to finishing your memoir.
Find new ways to structure and think about your book, and break the work up into smaller, more manageable pieces.
Find a small section of your book to refine as a calling card – an essay, an extract or sample to test in the real world.
Look at alternative methods of telling a personal story. Is the voice of your book the right voice to use? Are there better styles that suit your story?
Explore the beginnings of great memoirs, what catches a reader’s attention and forces them to read on. Are there ways you can find a stronger beginning to your story. Is it a re-ordering or a unique new scene?
Examine your story in the wider context of the world unfolding around the personal events. Look at the microcosm and the macrocosm of your unique story.
Deep dive into character - are the people in your story the right characters for the book? Are you missing key members of your cast? Are you featuring people who do not need a voice in the story?
Save others from harm and explore ways of obscuring identities, using metaphor and fictional methods of presenting the real world. Enact an empathetic approach to writing about people who have had a negative impact on your own life.
Explore how much is too much? We will look at the line between sharing generously and over-sharing. What needs to be saved for your therapist and what needs to be shared with a reader?
Bring what is hidden into the light and examine the areas of your life you are avoiding in your story. Decide if you should be leaning in to that discomfort.
Troubleshoot and identify the problem/s with your book, finding ways to overcome them.
Dig deep by planning and executing a last big push towards a first draft.
Re-write by stepping back from your work and finding ways of rewriting the (not great) first draft.
Finish strong by exploring meaningful endings.
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Please note that we may be able to offer two cohorts, and if so, the second program will run on Monday evenings - see dates below.
SEMESTER 1 - Monday class
Monday 2 March
Class 1: Making a PlanMonday 9 March
Class 2: How memoirs are structuredMonday 23 March
Class 3: Fiction vs MemoirMonday 13 April
Class 4: Hybrid and alternative structuresMonday 27 April
Class 5: The body is implicatedMonday 11 May
Class 6: How do we navigate timeMonday 18 May
Class 7: Casting and perspective - who tells the storyMonday 25 May
Class 8: What are you afraid of?Monday 15 June
Class 9: Breaking it down into manageable piecesMonday 22 June
Class 10: Microcosm - creating an excerpt for publicationMonday 13 July
Class 11: Check in and revising the planCOURSE BREAK
SEMESTER 2
Monday 3 August
Class 12: The situation and the storyMonday 10 August
Class 13: Traps, tricks and pitfallsMonday 24 August
Class 14: Sharing and oversharingMonday 7 September
Class 15: There are no baddiesMonday 21 September
Class 16: What is it all aboutMonday 12 October
Class 17: Index card shuffleMonday 26 October
Class 18: WorkshoppingMonday 9 November
Class 19: WorkshoppingMonday 23 November
Class 20: WorkshoppingMonday 30 November
Class 21: WorkshoppingMonday 7 December
Class 22: Into the FutureSEMESTER 1 - Tuesday Class
Tuesday 3 March
Class 1: Making a PlanTuesday 10 March
Class 2: How memoirs are structuredTuesday 24 March
Class 3: Fiction vs MemoirTuesday 14 April
Class 4: Hybrid and alternative structuresTuesday 28 April
Class 5: The body is implicatedTuesday 12 May
Class 6: How do we navigate timeTuesday 19 May
Class 7: Casting and perspective - who tells the storyTuesday 26 May
Class 8: What are you afraid of?Tuesday 16 June
Class 9: Breaking it down into manageable piecesTuesday 23 June
Class 10: Microcosm - creating an excerpt for publicationTuesday 14 July
Class 11: Check in and revising the planCOURSE BREAK
SEMESTER 2
Tuesday 4 August
Class 12: The situation and the storyTuesday 11 August
Class 13: Traps, tricks and pitfallsTuesday 25 August
Class 14: Sharing and oversharingTuesday 8 September
Class 15: There are no baddiesTuesday 22 September
Class 16: What is it all aboutTuesday 12 October
Class 17: Index card shuffleTuesday 26 October
Class 18: WorkshoppingTuesday 10 November
Class 19: WorkshoppingTuesday 24 November
Class 20: WorkshoppingTuesday 1 December
Class 21: WorkshoppingTuesday 8 December
Class 22: Into the Future -
Kris Kneen is an experienced mentor and facilitator, as well as the award-winning author of memoir— Affection and The Three Burials of Lotty Kneen — and fiction: An Uncertain Grace, Steeplechase, Triptych, The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine, Wintering, as well as the Thomas Shapcott Award-winning poetry collection Eating My Grandmother. They have written and directed broadcast documentaries for SBS and ABC Television. Their latest memoir is Fat Girl Dancing.
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“Kris Kneen’s Finish Your Memoir program encouraged us to approach our manuscripts in new ways. Thanks to Kris’ suggestions, and feedback from other class members, I’m inspired to explore different approaches to my second draft. I greatly valued Kris’s kindness, too, and the encouragement and openness of the other participants. And I look forward to keeping in touch with my classmates! ”
— Virginia Muzik, 2025 participant“Kris Kneen’s memoir course was extraordinary: both the structure, insights, writing prompts and depth of engagement with the wider field of memoir writing, with other writers in the course, and with what it opened up about my own project. I knew it would be good - but it was better.”
— anonymous, 2025 participant“The Finish Your Memoir course with Kris Kneen was invaluable for keeping me accountable and motivated during the long, difficult process of wrestling with material and trying to craft a meaningful story. Kris is a patient and encouraging teacher, and has great suggestions for getting unstuck when your writing isn’t working for you.”
— Anita Punton, 2025 participant“Finish Your Memoir gave me everything I needed to continue writing, as well as a greater knowledge of the field, and of possible approaches and common problems. I was greatly inspired and encouraged. Thank you Varuna, and Kris Kneen.”
— Sarah St Vincent Welch, 2025 participant“This is a really useful, hands-on program with structured writing exercises and a sharing of knowledge and experience across the board. Kris was really open to our questions and queries, allowing their experience to permeate the group. ”
— Louise Martin-Chew, 2025 participant“Kris Kneen was a wonderful teacher and mentor, providing careful and compassionate feedback on our work in progress memoir pieces. They gently pushed us to consider different narrative structures, viewpoints and hybrid styles, which I will take with me into my future work.”
— Sam Elkin, 2024 participant“The online memoir writing masterclass was one of the best learning and collaborative experiences I’ve had. Kris Kneen’s teaching drew us together and drew the best out of us. Our group of seven gelled and became a stimulating and supportive community. We read lots and we wrote lots and, by year’s end, had mostly pulled together a first draft of our memoir.”
— Clare Boyd-Macrae, 2024 participant -
Entry to this course is by application. Writers will be selected based on the creative potential of their work, commitment to craft, openness to collaborating with peers and the balance in the group. If we receive enough strong applications we will offer the program in two cohorts and will curate each of the groups to maximise peer-to-peer connections, taking preferences into account where possible.
Course fees are $3250 or $3150 for Varuna alumni. Payment terms are negotiable if you cannot pay the whole fee upfront.
Applications close at 5pm on Wednesday 28 January 2026. All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their submission by 13 February.
Please refer to Varuna’s general submission guidelines for any questions on formatting your work.
Feel free to call 02 4782 5674 or email amy@varuna.com.au to discuss your application.
UPCOMING COURSES, FELLOWSHIPS AND EVENTS
