Ty Newydd: Autofiction: Taking inspiration from within with Meena Kandasamy & Durre Shahwar
Blurring lines between fact and fiction, blending the ‘real’ and ‘imaginary’, autofiction is a rich genre for writers. In this 6-week online course, you’ll learn what ‘autofiction’ is, what creative opportunities it offers and how it differs from other forms of life writing.
During the course, you’ll look at different approaches into writing autofiction, ways of fictionalising the self and others, consider how your experience can be structured into a compelling narrative and much more. Your tutors, Meena Kandasamy and Durre Shahwar will be on-hand to guide you throughout, and you’ll be joined by a guest reader for one of the weekly sessions.
Meena Kandasamy is a novelist, poet and translator who lives in East London. Her critically acclaimed first novel, The Gypsy Goddess (Atlantic Books, 2014), blurred the line between powerful fiction and fearsome critique in narrating the 1968 massacre of forty-four landless untouchable men, women and children striking for higher wages in the village of Kilvenmani, Tanjore.
Durre Shahwar is a writer, researcher, and educator with a PhD in autofiction and hybrid identity. She was shortlisted and highly commended for the Morley Lit Prize. Durre is the co-editor of multiple books; Gathering: Women of Colour on Nature (2020, 404 Ink), Just So You Know (2020, Parthian Books).
Dates: Thursday 6 November 2025 - Thursday 11 December 2025
Location: Online
Cost: £175
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