The Write Your Story Programme is a significant cultural activity of the Lamm Jewish Library of Australia.  The programme facilitates members of the Jewish community to write and publish their autobiographies.

Many of the memoirs published to date are Holocaust-related, making The Write Your Story Programme one the largest published collections of Holocaust memoirs in English in the world today. Each survivor has a remarkable story to tell and recording these personal reflections provides a vital historical and personal appreciation of this terrible era.

These publications teach us of the remarkable resilience of the survivors, many of whom were instrumental in building Melbourne’s Jewish institutions.

Write Your Story Programme is not only for Holocaust memoirs. It is available to authors who are several generation Australians, migrants or children of migrants.  These biographical and autobiographical publications offer an insight into and a collage of the Melbourne Jewish community.

The Write Your Story initiative provides support for the author at every stage, from assistance with language, editorial advice, copy-editing and proofreading through to manufacture and delivery.  Completed manuscripts may be in the form of photocopied spiral-bound copies, or fully designed books with photos in black and white or colour. Books are published by Makor publishing, a division of the LJLA.  One copy of each book is specially bound and entered into the Loti and Victor Smorgon Jewish Community Archive, which is housed at the library.  Manuscripts are developed in the manner that best suits each author.  Some individuals prefer to work alone with occasional guidance while others require the presence of an editor throughout the process to achieve the requisite standard.

Through this LJLA initiative, men and women in the community are able to share their significant stories for future generations.