From the ancient Greeks to the modern publishing world, the writing of lives has been of perennial fascination. Scientists, soldiers, scholars, politicians, writers and artists, ordinary men and women: life-writing is among the richest and most varied of genres. The Oxford Centre for Life-Writing (OCLW) at Wolfson College encourages those who write biography and memoir, and those who undertake research on existent life-narratives.

A Home for Life-Writing
OCLW's base at Wolfson College, Oxford, provides a natural home for life-writing. The college's President, Hermione Lee, is an eminent biographer, and several other members of the Governing Body - including Jon Stallworthy - work in life-writing and related disciplines. The college hosts an annual series of Life-Writing lectures and an annual Life-Stories Day, involving auto/biographical presentations from many of the college’s students and Fellows. There is also a lively Life-Stories Society.

The website contains information about:

• How life-writing might be defined.
• Who we are: OLCW's Advisory Committee and Members.
• Forthcoming events (talks, lectures, workshops, conferences).
• Forthcoming study opportunities at OCLW, including Research Fellowships, Scholarships and Postgraduate Studentships.
• A life-writing blog, detailing the day-to-day reflections and challenges of practising life-writers – please do leave comments and suggestions!
• OCLW on Facebook, Twitter, and other useful pages to bookmark.
• The Life-Stories Society and Wolfson's annual Life-Stories Day.
• How to contact us. To subscribe to OCLW's mailing list and receive information regarding forthcoming events and invitations, please email rachel [dot] hewitt [at] wolfson [dot] ox [dot] ac [dot] uk (Dr Rachel Hewitt).