Writing Through the Lens of Experience with Caelainn Hogan

Course Summary

How do we write through the lens of experience, whether we are telling our own or the stories of others, so that the work is made tangible through our perspective?

As a writer of immersive nonfiction, I will speak about developing an eye for narrative and detail as a reporter while also learning how to write from my own insights, deciding when to put myself within the story.

I will share an overview of what I have learned throughout my time as a writer, from starting with longform narrative journalism and essays to publishing my book Republic of Shame.

Course Outline

Participants will focus on how to:

– Develop your eye as a writer of immersive nonfiction

– Practice putting yourself within the narrative

– Document and explore your own experiences

– Discuss practicalities of pitching and publishing your writing

The workshop will also involve short writing exercises throughout.

Course Outcome

Through speaking about my own experience as a writer, working for international newspapers and literary journals for more than a decade and becoming an author, I hope the skills and insights I have gathered over the years will encourage participants to experiment with more challenging and immersive nonfiction.

There will be time for questions throughout and I am happy also to speak about the practicalities of pitching, publishing, and making ends meet as a writer.

Caelainn Hogan is a writer and journalist with work published in The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, VICE, The Guardian, The Dublin Review and others. Her book Republic of Shame, published in September 2019 by Penguin Ireland, investigates the ongoing legacy of the religious-run institutions in Ireland that incarcerated thousands of women and children.