Advanced Autofiction 12-Month Workshop and Mentorship with Victoria Costello, Starts Wednesday, April 1st, 2026

Begins Wednesday, April 1st, 2026 Bi-monthly (2x each month) meetings will take place on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, from 6 to 8pm ET. Open to Advanced writers and limited to 6 participants.  Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button (lower left) to talk with us. Taught by Victoria Costello, an Emmy Award-winning writer, teacher, and the author of six published non-fiction books, including her memoir, A Lethal Inheritance, and her debut novel of autobiographical fiction, Orchid Child (June 2023). Read more about Victoria's approach to writing trauma-informed autofiction at her website, STORIES THAT HEAL. Read Victoria's Essay on Rediscovering the Healing Magic of Storytelling Open to intermediate and advanced writers with a work-in-progress of a minimum of 15,000 words. APPLY NOW! Aspiring authors of life-inspired fiction are often warned against bringing individual or family traumas into a writing class, with most instructors warning, “this is literature not therapy.” After publishing an award-winning memoir and a debut novel reflecting her own experience of intergenerational trauma, then teaching new writers and finding unprocessed trauma often hindering their creative process, Victoria has designed a course that takes a different tact. Her year-long, advanced autofiction class integrates the craft of trauma-centered storytelling and traditional workshopping with group role-play adapted from psychotherapy. This unique approach addresses students’ twin goals of completing a book length work of literature intended for publication — while also achieving some measure of personal healing. This course consists of two monthly, class meetings, held on the first and third Wednesdays, from 6 to 8:00 pm EDT, with each session consisting of three activities: A mini-lecture addressing a topic specific to auto-fictional writing:  “Creating a protagonist who is you but not you” and “Adapting the traditional three-act story structure for a trauma-centered, narrative beats”. Group role play and guided visualization: An instructor-led process to mine character and thematic insights focused on one writer’s WIP.     Workshop: Verbal feedback on two participants’ works-in-progress. By year’s end, each writer’s work will be workshopped four times. Each individual writer will receive: Five one-on-one manuscript consultations with the instructor, scheduled approximately every other month, to review individual progress. A written and verbal review by the instructor of each writer’s final draft at the end of the course. Are you motivated to explore the ancestral roots and potential healing of the trauma that has followed you around all your life, and translate those insights to into a compelling new story? For a trauma-informed storyteller, healing can take many forms. It doesn’t always amount to a ‘happy ending.’ Sometimes healing comes from finally understanding what happened to you and imagining a different life path and outcome. This 12-month advanced workshop, limited to just 6 motivated writers, uses both memory and imagination to find and write a new story containing your deeper, healing truth. This workshop is for you if you’re considering fictionalizing important aspects of a story about something that happened to you. That is, you’re writing a true story that would fit neatly in the memoir category if it didn’t include these departures from memory and known facts. In other words, this is an advanced workshop for both memoirists and fiction writers who want to use both genres in a single piece of writing. This workshop will also be useful for memoirists who wish to learn more fiction writing craft to apply to a memoir in progress. Advanced Autofiction is for anyone who’s previously taken Victoria Costello’s introductory workshop, When Memoir Becomes Autofiction, or for those with an autofiction first draft of at least 15,000 words or 50 pages underway. A maximum of six writers will be accepted for this course with ten sample pages from your work in process required prior to acceptance. If accepted, you will meet twice monthly for a two-hour live workshop on Zoom. These meetings will take place on the first and third Wednesday of each month, from 6 to 8 p.m. ET.  The course starts on Wednesday, April 1st, 2026. APPLY NOW! COURSE TAKEAWAYS:  Balancing Truth and Imagination: Learn how to skillfully blend memory and imagination to craft a compelling narrative that feels authentic yet transcends the limitations of traditional memoir. This workshop will empower you to navigate the delicate balance between staying true to your life experiences while also incorporating fictional elements to enhance storytelling. Crafting Believable Characters and Themes: Learn insights and techniques for creating multidimensional characters and developing coherent trauma-informed themes that resonate with readers. Through instructor lectures and group discussions, you'll deepen your understanding of character development and thematic exploration, enriching your manuscript with complexity and depth. Effective Feedback and Workshop Dynamics: Experience the benefits of constructive critique and collaborative learning in a small group setting. Receive personalized feedback from both your instructor and peers, allowing you to refine your writing skills, identify blind spots, and strengthen your manuscript through diverse perspectives and insights. At the close of this course, the instructor will provide a written and verbal review of your completed first draft. Structured Progress and Accountability: Benefit from a structured timeline and regular meetings to keep you accountable and focused on your writing goals. By participating in bi-monthly lectures, workshops, and group role play, you'll make tangible progress on your manuscript, refining its structure, honing its narrative arc, and ultimately emerging with a substantial portion of a polished first draft.   Strategies for Publishing: Learn traditional and nontraditional ways to get your story out there, including popular media and literary journals. Pursue book publishing with proven strategies to find and get the attention of friendly literary agents and, ultimately, editors representing mainstream publishers and independent presses.  TESTIMONIALS: "I have an MFA and I've workshopped with many writers over the years, some quite famous. I feel that Victoria's workshop helped me the most because of her gift of balancing a writer's personal trauma with the craft of writing. And I love how she managed to meet everyone within a diverse group at their own individual pace and level of readiness." -Hannah. PA.  "Thank you so much for your encouragement and excellent suggestions and revisions, Victoria!"  —Diane G.     “Thank you, Victoria. You have given me the encouragement I needed to feel like this is a worthwhile project.” —Pat S.  “Victoria is dedicated to instructing her students. She offered honest, valuable feedback along with a personal touch. Her insight and sense of humor made the group comfortable and rewarding. I appreciate the encouragement she gave me and others throughout the course.”  —Paul B. “I had a really monumental class experience. I walked away with a solid start to a first chapter, and, for the first time, concrete ideas on how to plod forward.” —Sonya C.  “I got so much out of the class. It was informative and so much fun! It really infused some life back into me, which was the hope." —Alison L. I had no idea what to expect from this class and was very pleasantly surprised when it felt like the right fit. The depth of the classes and the feedback from the classmates and your critique was insightful and helpful. Thank you for giving me a pleasing experience on my journey of writing. —Jonette S.     Thank you so much, Victoria! Your notes have been of great help to me. I also thank you for your warm words at the end. It was a pleasure for me too to be in this class. —Anca P.     Thank-you for all that you have shared. I have learned a lot and appreciate your time and mentoring. — Cynthia S. As the author of an autobiographical novel in process, I've been greatly helped by Victoria's teaching on questions like how to portray living people, how to maintain dramatic tension, and who this story belongs to. She is a perceptive reader whose taste encompasses literary fiction and more popular work. As an instructor, she provides specific constructive suggestions on framing and word choice as well as pacing. She develops an esprit de corps within the class and encourages supportive yet discerning feedback on one another's work.  —Diane Crothers, Brooklyn, New York Our lives hold stories waiting to be told, and Victoria is helping me tell mine. She brings her professional experience as a memoirist and novelist and empathy born of her own life’s experiences to her teaching. With an eye for innovative details and suggestions for new approaches to bring a character to life, Victoria skillfully guides her students through the storytelling process, whether they be seasoned writers or newcomers to the craft. —Deborah Rothschild, Talent, Oregon  Victoria obviously knows her stuff! I found that the space she created in our class, and her guidance, to be supportive, insightful, and very helpful. As an author of memoir trying out new material, the class was invaluable. —Donna M. Thomas, Ashland, Oregon “It is not easy to take complex ideas and competing theories about form and create clarity from them, but Victoria Costello has managed to do just that in her course on autofiction. My writing has benefited greatly from her capacity for synthesis, her generous spirit of feedback and sharing of resources, and her belief in the possibility of the work. What a fabulous course!” -Patti Digh, author of Life is a Verb and seven other books. “As a memoirist, this introduction to autofiction inspired me to fictionalize pieces of my book that I had been struggling with writing. I had such a great time learning new techniques that Victoria taught in addition to reviewing some foundations of writing a full length novel. Victoria helped me turn an idea into a well thought out book in an interactive and inspiring way. I highly recommend this course, no matter where you are on your writing journey.” -Holly Whiteknight, naturopathic physician and memorist “I would recommend this class for anyone who wants to bring a memoir to life by turning it into auto-fiction. Victoria is skilled at seeing the possibilities because she has personal experience of turning a memoir into auto-fiction.” -Kanu Kogod, diversity consultant. APPLY NOW! PAYMENT OPTIONS: Tuition is $3,400. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout. This online class will be taught via Zoom and is limited to 6 students.  The course starts on Wednesday, April 1st, 2026 The course concludes on March 11, 2027 Bi-monthly (2x each month) meetings will take place on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, from 6 to 8pm ET. Tuition is $3,400. If you have questions, please use the Chat Button or contact us via email HERE.