In-Person Workshop:
Writing Your Family History with Linda Tate
Harpers Ferry, WV
September 16th - 20th 2026
In this generative workshop, you will explore strategies for uncovering and shaping family history into narrative through genealogy, oral history interviews, family archives, photographs, heirlooms, and lived experience. Through guided prompts and discussion of published memoir excerpts, you will write new material while exploring structure, voice, ethics, and audience.
Whether you are exploring a family mystery, recovering forgotten stories, examining inherited narratives, or seeking to better understand the people who came before you, this workshop will help you transform curiosity and research into memoir that is both deeply personal and grounded in historical inquiry – and perhaps discover a reason to write the story only you can tell.
This workshop is a good fit for writers at all levels, from beginners to experienced, who want to transform family stories into memoir, essays, or family keepsakes.
Linda Tate
Linda Tate is the author of Power in the Blood: A Family Narrative (Ohio University Press), an award-winning memoir about uncovering the truth of her family’s past. A former writing professor and West Virginia Professor of the Year, Linda serves as associate editor for Allison K Williams’s Project Memoir and Project Novel courses.
Host: Ellen Weeren
Ellen Weeren’s work has been published by the Saturday Evening Post, the Kenyon Review (KRonline), Fractured Lit, Liars’ League NYC, the Hong Kong Review, Crack the Spine, Stonecoast Review, and others. She’s the recipient of the George Mason 2019 Outstanding Graduate Student Award (MFA Fiction), the Porches Writing Fellowship, the Marjorie Kinnear Sydor Award in Literary Citizenship, WV Writers Terry McNemar Scholarship, and the Kenyon Review’s Novel Writing Workshop Peter Taylor Fellowship. TripBase twice recognized her blog about living in India as one of the top 10 best travel blogs.
Ellen runs a writers retreat in Harpers Ferry, WV (areasontowrite.com). Her short story collection titled Love and Other Failures is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press. She lives in West Virginia with a reasonable number of cats and is working on a novel.
Format
Proposed Schedule (9:00 AM – 5:00 PM)
- Wednesday 9/16 at 6pm: Welcome Dinner/Meet & Greet
- Thursday 9/17 – Saturday 9/19: Workshops
- Sun 9/20: Farewell & Readings (ends at noon)
Location/ Lodging
- Lodging is not provided
- The workshop space is located in the outskirts of Harpers Ferry.
- Approximately one hour from Northern Virginia and 1 hour 15 minutes from Washington, DC.
Transportation
- Not included. Free parking is available onsite for those driving.
Deposit/ Payment
- $875/ writer
- Meals Included (Lodging and Travel are not Included)
Cancellation Policy
Apply for the In-Person Work Shop by Filling out the form below
Please be sure to read over the requirements (Requirements) before you apply. By applying, you are indicating that you agree to these terms.
Ellen will be in touch with more details regarding registration, and payment information. In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Ellen at ellen.weeren@gmail.com