The art of literary nonfiction—memoir, literary journalism, the personal essay—is a lifelong practice. But for beginners, the first step is often discovering one’s own voice. In this workshop, award-winning author Andrew Lam invites participants to begin with the intimacy and honesty of letter writing.

Writing a letter to someone you love, admire, or wish to understand can be both personal and profound, offering a natural way to uncover your literary voice. Together, we’ll explore the lost art of letter writing as a gateway to memoir and essay, practice writing and reading short excerpts aloud, and reflect on how to deepen and refine our work.

📖 Sample Andrew Lam letter, “The Refugee American Experience,” published in the Huffington Post: Read here

About the Facilitator
Andrew Lam is a Vietnamese American author, journalist, and former NPR All Things Considered commentator. He is the author of Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora (PEN Open Book Award), East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres, Birds of Paradise Lost (winner of the Josephine Miles Award for Fiction and finalist for the California Book Award), and most recently Stories from the Edge of the Sea (2025). His journalism has earned him the Outstanding Young Journalist Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, and his essays and stories have appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and HuffPost. A co-founder and former editor of New America Media, Lam has lectured at more than forty universities and cultural institutions including the Asia Society and the Smithsonian. His writing, celebrated for its poetic honesty, explores exile, belonging, and the Vietnamese diaspora.