Twenty keen writers from around the district recently attended a ‘Writing Lives Workshop’ at Cootamundra Library with ACT author Andra Putnis.
Attendees gained valuable information to write their family history and memoirs, with several writing exercises and sharing stories.
Andra went through writing tips from learning techniques for assessing personal memories, focused research, discovering how to follow memories and stitch them together to uncover narrative arc and plot, pacing memories in the broader context of family, place, community and history to hone meaning, through to staying true to your project and navigating the perils of telling your own story and the stories of others.
Attendees came from Young, Wombat, Boorowa, Galong, Stockinbingal, Jugiong, Grenfell, Cootamundra and Wagga Wagga.
Comments included the professional way Andra conducted the workshop, her patience, humility, sincerity, teaching skills and all they learnt from her wonderful presentation.
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Andra shared her stories of speaking with her two grandmothers who immigrated from Latvia to Australia with their families, after living through the terrors of the Second World War.
She published these memories in her debut book ‘Stories My Grandmothers Didn’t Tell Me’ in 2024.
It was also translated to Latvian and launched in Riga, Latvia in 2025.
Her book has just been shortlisted for the ACT Book of the Year Award.
Andra is an Australian writer from Canberra working to “tell powerful stories to help us better understand our world and each other.”
She is also excited to be working as Artistic Director of the Canberra Writers Festival to bring an outstanding lineup of writers and speakers to Canberra from 22 - 26 October 2025.
MAREE MYHILL
