Moving from Academic to Memoirist: What I learned from Writing ‘An Architecture of Hope’ with Yvonne Jewkes (University of Bath)
A BSA Auto/Biography Study Group Event
9 January 2025 (1700-1800)
Online
About the Event
Moving from Academic to Memoirist: What I learned from Writing ‘An Architecture of Hope’ with Yvonne Jewkes, Professor of Criminology, University of Bath
Abstract
In September 2024 I published my first trade book – a professional and personal memoir titled An Architecture of Hope: Reimagining the Prison, Restoring a House, Rebuilding Myself (Scribe Publications). The book combines narratives from my research career in prisons and helping to design prisons around the world to be rehabilitative, rather than punitive, with a very personal story about the end of a 25-year relationship and the meaning of home. The overarching theme of the book is that confinement comes in many guises – but so too does freedom. In this presentation, I will talk frankly about the journey I went on – getting a literary agent and a publishing contract, learning how to write up my research for a general audience, the joys and pitfalls of writing memoir, what happens after the book is published and out there in the world, and the implications of writing about real people, including family members. If you have ever thought about writing yourself into your academic work in a deeper and more honest way, or if you’ve contemplated writing for a non-academic audience and are wondering how to go about it, this presentation will tell you what you can anticipate and what mistakes to avoid!
Registration
- Auto/biography Study Group Member/BSA Member: FREE
- Non-Member: £10
Zoom joining instructions will be sent approximately 24 hours in advance of the event. We hope you can join us.
Please share information about our events and the work of the Auto/Biography Study Group with interested colleagues.