12 Months to a Full Memoir in Essays Incubator: Write Your Memoir in a Year with Courtney Kocak

Begins Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Classes will meet via Zoom on Tuesdays, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET

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Instructor Bio

Instructor Courtney Kocak is a writer, podcaster, and comedian based in Los Angeles. Her debut memoir, Girl Gone Wild, is forthcoming from Trio House Press in April 2026. A Writing Workshops incubator was instrumental to finishing her own book, and she's excited to share what she's learned with a fresh cohort.

Courtney wrote for Amazon's Emmy-winning animated series Danger & Eggs and Netflix's Know It All. Her bylines include The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Cosmopolitan, Slate, HuffPost, The Sun, Catapult, BUST, Bustle, Business Insider, and InsideHook, among others. She reports on gender, sexuality, psychedelics, reproductive rights, sex work, and sustainability.

In the audio sphere, Courtney has produced a slew of highly-ranked podcasts and currently hosts three of her own with over two million downloads to date: Private Parts Unknown, about love and sexuality around the world, The Bleeders, about book writing and publishing, and Podcast Bestie, a best friend to podcasters trying to grow and monetize their shows (and a popular Substack). She is an independent producer for Santa Monica NPR-affiliate station KCRW, and her radio story about drag queen Maebe A. Girl won an LA Press Club award for gender/LGBT reporting.

Courtney graduated from UCLA's Professional Program in Screenwriting and trained in comedy and satire writing through The Second City. She took a year-long essay generator through Catapult and is currently an MFA candidate at Antioch University's low-residency program. She teaches writing and podcasting for Writing Workshops, Write or Die, Chill Subs, Roadmap Writers, Pandemic University, and WhoHaha.

Who is this class for?

This online memoir writing workshop is for 7–12 memoirists and essayists serious about shaping their personal experiences into a polished, book-length manuscript. Writers at various stages of their memoir journey are welcome — whether you're early in the process or actively shaping a manuscript — so long as you're excited to engage deeply with your work and the work of others and commit to consistent writing between sessions. All levels welcome.

What to expect:

12 MONTHS TO A FULL MEMOIR IN ESSAYS INCUBATOR is a comprehensive, MFA-level online writing workshop designed to help you clarify your book's concept, generate 52,000+ words, revise and deepen each essay, and understand how personal essays speak to one another as a holistic memoir. Courtney believes the memoir-in-essays form is one of the most flexible and effective formats for a first book, though this incubator is also appropriate for writers working on a more traditional memoir or essay collection.

Across 26 sessions and 52 hours of group instruction — plus four one-on-one meetings with Courtney — you'll generate new work, revise existing essays, and begin shaping a manuscript that understands itself as a book. Expect rigorous craft discussion, generative writing exercises, thoughtful workshops, individualized feedback, and a supportive cohort that will keep you accountable every step of the way. This nonfiction writing workshop focuses on how to write essays that stand powerfully on their own, identify and refine the emotional and thematic throughlines of your book, understand how individual essays accumulate meaning across a book-length arc, and balance vulnerability, craft, and authority on the page.

Sessions will include a mix of craft talks and close readings, generative writing exercises, group discussion and Q&A, and peer workshops with structured, supportive feedback. Writers will workshop multiple submissions over the course of the program and receive both peer and instructor feedback. Throughout the incubator, visiting authors and publishing professionals will join to share craft insights, process lessons, and real-world perspectives on writing and publishing memoir.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will generate 52,000+ words of new material, revise and deepen multiple essays, and develop a cohesive memoir-in-essays manuscript. Students will receive both peer and instructor feedback through multiple workshop rounds, as well as individualized guidance through four private one-on-one meetings with Courtney. By the end of the program, each writer will have a working table of contents, a revision roadmap, and clarity about next steps for completing and submitting their manuscript.

COURSE OUTLINE

The course is divided into three phases, designed to take you from concept to a cohesive memoir-in-essays manuscript.

Phase 1: Foundational Craft & Concept (Sessions 1–10)

• Clarify the premise, emotional core, and themes of your memoir
• Generate new material through guided writing exercises
• Consider the best chronology for your story
• Explore the memoir-in-essays form through craft talks, readings, and discussion
• Begin shaping a working arc and thematic throughline for the collection
• Outcome: A clear conceptual framework for your book.

Phase 2: Continued Development & Revision (Sessions 11–18)

• Continue generating new material
• Identify your strongest existing essays and gaps in the manuscript
• Revise and deepen individual essays with an eye toward cohesion
• Focus on voice, scene, reflection, and narrative momentum
• Experiment with ordering, repetition, and resonance across essays
• Receive targeted instructor feedback on works-in-progress Outcome: A body of essays that stand alone and speak to one another, plus a plan for what you need to write and revise.

Phase 3: Holistic Revision & Publishing Strategy (Sessions 19–26)

• Refine the manuscript as a whole
• Analyze structure, pacing, and thematic balance
• Develop a working table of contents and revision roadmap
• Discuss paths forward: finishing the manuscript, submissions, and publishing considerations for memoir-in-essays
• Identify next concrete steps tailored to your project Outcome: A cohesive, intentional memoir-in-essays manuscript — and clarity about what comes next.

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COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Substantial progress on a memoir-in-essays manuscript (52,000+ words of generated and revised material)
• Revised essays and newly generated work shaped by rigorous craft feedback
• A clear sense of your book's emotional, thematic, and narrative throughline and structure
• Practical revision tools and strategies you can continue using independently
• A supportive cohort of serious nonfiction writers who will hold you accountable
• Momentum, confidence, and a concrete roadmap for completing and submitting your manuscript

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Begins Tuesday, June 16, 2026
• Classes will meet every other Tuesday via Zoom, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET
• 26 sessions total | 52 hours of group instruction | 4 one-on-one meetings with Courtney
• June 2026 – June 2027
• Between 7–12 writers will be accepted

Tuition Payment

Full tuition for the 12-month program is $7,200 USD. You can pay the tuition in full, or payment plans of varying installments are available upon acceptance to the course. Accepted writers must commit to the full year and meet all assigned deadlines.

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FAQs:

Why not an MFA program?

This program combines the best things about an MFA program — community, mentorship, and intensive craft analysis — with specialized and practical publishing advice tailored specifically to memoir and essay collections. You'll get sustained, individualized guidance without the cost, time commitment, or geographic constraints of a traditional degree program.

Why does this class cost so much?

The 12-month incubator is an MFA-level course, taught by a published memoirist and experienced educator who is also an MFA candidate. Your tuition helps pay your instructor a living wage and covers the cost of booking guest speakers, arranging one-on-one sessions, scheduling events, and administering the program.

Can I get a refund if I do not complete the program?

Once paid, your full tuition is nonrefundable. This is a selective program with limited spots. We are making a commitment to you for the full year and expect that you will do the same. For this reason, there are no refunds after your tuition has been paid.

I finished the incubator. When will I get published?

We can't promise that every writer who leaves the 12-month memoir incubator will get published right away, or ever. Publishing is a tricky business, involving lots of luck and time — as students who enroll in this course will learn! That said, as writers ourselves, we strongly believe that we can help prepare emerging memoirists and essayists to better navigate the publishing industry, and that our program and the connections made here will increase your chances of success.

In the course description, there are mentions of meetings with guest speakers. I want the details right now! Why can't I have them?

People who work in publishing are busy, and we confirm guest speakers on a rolling basis, as their schedules permit.

I'm early in my memoir process and don't have much written yet. Is this class right for me?

It can be! This incubator is designed for writers at various stages. If you have a clear sense of the story you want to tell and are committed to generating new material consistently, this program will give you the structure, accountability, and craft guidance to build your manuscript from the ground up. The key thing is that from day one, you come ready to write.

I already have a lot of essays written. Should I take this class?

Absolutely. Many writers have individual essays but struggle to see how they connect as a book. This incubator will help you identify your strongest work, find the gaps, and shape everything into a cohesive manuscript with a clear thematic throughline. You'll also receive feedback that deepens your existing pieces while generating new material to round out the collection.

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Additional Program Information

• Tuition is $7,200 USD
• Between 7–12 writers will be accepted
• The incubator is fully online and students may participate from anywhere
• Meeting format: Zoom (Professional account provided by instructor)
• Level: All levels — writers at various stages of their memoir journey are welcome
• NOTE: Shifting some dates around may be necessary but any changes will be communicated well in advance, if possible