Local memoir writing group release anthology

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Laughter echoed throughout the second floor of the Freeport Memorial Library — ­it’s a day of celebration for the memoir-writing group. For the last four years, the memoir-writing group has been meeting regularly to learn how to write creative nonfiction stories specifically focused on memoir. After writing 600 stories, collectively as a group, Barbara Spinelli, the organizer of the workshop, encouraged the writers, primarily comprised of women, to put together an anthology of their stories.

On a monthly basis, the group is given different writing prompts to inspire a variety of story ideas. Spinelli works one-on-one with the writers, helping them to hone their writing skills. Over the years, the group has become a tight knit group who has shared personal and intimate experiences through their writing with each other.

“Let’s celebrate what’s in this book. This is amazing,” said Spinelli.

The new anthology is a collection of stories by Freeporters and will be available for interested readers at the library. Each of the writers received a copy of their book and took turns reading excerpts of their stories to each other.

“The stories that you wrote are very personal,” said Library Director, Ken Bellafiore. “Their all very heartfelt and meaningful and I have to say this is the first publication that we have that comes out of the library [from local writers].”