Boston Book Festival 2018

In the #MeToo era, how do you decide whether you have a personal story worth sharing? Once you’re ready, how do you go about getting it out into the world, whether under your own byline or as a source for a reporter? Two expert storytellers and advocates--Jaclyn Friedman and Lesley Kinzel--will get into the ethics of personal sharing in the public sphere. We’ll talk upsides, pitfalls, tips for maximizing impact, advice for making your story friendly to journalists without selling out your truth, and strategies for weathering the inevitable blowback when you go viral. We’ll also zoom out to talk about the history and gender politics of the personal essay, and push back on the idea that women’s first-person narratives are disposable, self-indulgent, and unreliable. If you’ve got a story to tell, there’s never been a more important moment for it.