
Life stories & Biographies
Because you are the only person who has lived your life.
Share your life stories during multiple interviews and receive a hardcover memory book.
Without a record of your memories, the lessons you have learnt and the experiences you have had may be lost with time.
—ography offers packages for all families across three tiers of storytelling: Tale, Chronicle, and Memoir. Each tier builds on the other, creating richer, more in-depth stories for your memory book.
Let’s explore what package is right for you.
Packages overview
Tale
The perfect package for:
Those wanting to give a special birthday present
A farewell gift to longstanding and valued team members
A gift to yourself to share stories of your life
A loved one who is short on time
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Approx 4-6 weeks from first interview to delivery of your hardcover book.
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1x pre-interview phone call
3+ hours of interviews
Transcription and editing
Design and formatting
Printing and publishing 1x hardcover book
Postage and delivery of your memory book -
$2800 NZD | £1450 GBP | $1800 USD
Chronicle
The perfect package for:
Adult children who want to come together to preserve their parent’s life stories
A founder wanting to tell the story of their business growth and expansion
A gift to yourself to create a keepsake of your memories and life stories
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Approx 2-3 months from first interview to delivery of your hardcover books.
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1x pre-interview phone call
6+ hours of interviews
Transcription and editing
Design and formatting
Printing and publishing 3x hardcover books
Postage and delivery of your memory books -
$6500 NZD | £3400 GBP | $4200 USD
Memoir
The perfect package for:
+An everlasting gift for a significant wedding anniversary
+A retiring CEO or Director wanting to share insights and events from their life and career
+A gift to yourself, to reminisce and tell stories from your life’s journey.
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Approx 4-6 months from first interview to delivery of your hardcover books.
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1x pre-interview phone call
10+ hours of interviews
Transcription and editing
Bespoke design and formatting
Printing and publishing 5x hardcover books
Postage and delivery of your memory books -
$10000 NZD | £5200 GBP | $6490 USD
The Process
While we aren’t going to give away all of our trade secrets to what makes the perfect story, this is an overview of what working with —ography on your memory book would look like:
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Before we get down to the storytelling it’s important we understand what you want to get out of this experience.
We have a few hours of time together, so let’s make sure that we make the most of this opportunity to tell your story by understanding your ‘why’ behind your memory book. Who is this for? What do you want to make sure is communicated?
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Interview time offers space to revisit your life journey thus far.
Your storyteller will know what questions to ask from our pre-interview introduction. Where we need to be, we are fluid and flexible on where the interviews take us–we do love a good rabbit hole.
As part of this interview process, we also encourage you to curate photos for us to include in your memory book. This can also be a good way to get other loved ones involved in your story. Don’t worry if these are old or worn; we can magically remove paper tears and reflections.
Tale allows for three hours of interview time. Chronicle allows for six hours across multiple sessions. Memoir is our most substantial offering at ten hours of interview sessions spread across a number of weeks.
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This is where your tales are left in capable hands. Our storytellers will transcribe and craft an engaging story of your pivotal moments. We spend hours making sure all the t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted. Listening to the interviews, we capture your voice in an authentic way throughout your entire memory book.
We share with you what we have crafted to ensure all street names, family members, and memories are written correctly and in order.
That is to say, we make sure you can approve the proof story before it goes to design.
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We’re professional storytellers, not designers. That’s why we partner with top-notch designers to format your book into a beautiful keepsake.
Choose from a selection of pre-selected design templates, and we take care of the rest.
With each new offering tier, from Tale through to Chronicle to Memoir, you have more free rein over the design of your memory book. From colours to fonts and illustrations, when you choose Memoir you can have as little or as much collaboration over the look and feel of your book as you desire.
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Making your memory book extra-unique (if that were a phrase).
Add-ons include:
A second series of interviews with loved ones on their perspective of your life.
Illustrated dust cover, or bespoke illustrations within your memory book.
Additional hardcover copies of your memory book.
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At the end of this experience, you receive one colour copy of your hardcover Memory Book complete with its own dust jacket. Through each new tier of more stories, photos and chapters will be included to create a weightier memory book for your coffee table, bookshelf, or wherever else precious things are displayed.
Life Story Packages
Tale
After three hours of interviews the key treasured moments from your life will be transformed into your very own biography.
These memories could include significant occasions such as marriage, births, jobs, or even near-death experiences. You could also use your time with a time to share an overview of your life so far.
Our design partners will guide the creation of a hardcover book in a style that fits your preferred style, modern or traditional.
This option is perfect for capturing key messages and legacies you want your family and loved ones to carry with them and to pass on to future generations. This makes a wonderful birthday gift.
Chronicle
Chronicle is the opportunity to dive deeper into what has made you, you.
Recount unique and memorable moments from your life in six hours of interview sessions. This is the optimum about of time to discuss many memories that are at the front of mind, as well as those that are a little deeper.
You can use these sessions to remember specific periods of your life, including your family heritage and childhood or specific business ventures. It could also include lasting memories and lessons of your life from childhood to now. Our storytellers can help you decide what you would like to focus on in each session.
These memories are captured into a hardcover book for you and you and generations to come to cherish.
Memoir
Memoir offers an opportunity like no other, the chance to define your legacy for generations to come.
In this process, we not only explore your life but your heritage or whakapapa. Memoir is your journey from the angle of previous generations, right through to what you want future generations to hold dear.
Across ten hours of interviews we will focus on a multitude of periods and aspects of your life such as your ancestry, family, or career, or life lessons. Each period forms a comprehensive chapter in your Memory Book, designed completely in collaboration with your Storyteller and design partners, Studio Acht.
Your memoir is everything you want people to remember, how you want it to be remembered.
FAQs
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Each tier is defined by the amount of personalisation and storytelling it allows. More hours of interviews= more of your stories can be told, and more of your voice and perspective can be understood.
With each additional hour of interview, there is a substantial amount of transcribing, editing, proofing, and supporting photographs that come with it. Therefore, Chronicle will create a fuller memory book than Tale, and Memoir will create a larger memory book again.
Choosing between the three depends on your intentions for your memory book. Is it a gift? A keepsake for your children? Or a legacy for generations to come?
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We primarily run our interviews over video calls such as Skype, Google Meets or Zoom. We also love a phone call, as we know video technology isn’t for everybody.
If you are based in the United Kingdom, Europe or New Zealand the interviews may be able to be conducted face-to-face, let us know where you are based when you get in touch.
We find online or over the phone to be just as easy as face-to-face to tell a good story. It just means we don’t eat all of your biscuits (we can’t say no to shortbread).
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We’re intrigued.
Send us a message on our contact page or email the team at hello@ographystories.com and let us know what you’ve got in mind.
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We offer a free introductory call and quote with every inquiry so there are no surprises in the process. We are more than happy to discuss payment plans that work for everyone.
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It depends on your availability, and how many alterations or proofs are needed. Tale’s can take 4-6 weeks from beginning to end, whereas Chronicle is more likely to take 2-3 months. Memoir can take anywhere from 3-6 months, depending on the complexity of the project.
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If you want to honour someone who has died by writing a memory book, we can definitely do this for you. Please do get in touch.
If you would like to write a memory book for someone else still living, we will consider this on a case by case basis.
Get Started
Your memory book journey starts here.
Send us a message to begin the conversation.