Rachel and I had a great time talking with Leonard Lopate and winners of SMITH and WNYC’s “Six-Word Resolutions” contest. Listen to a podcast of the show on WNYC.com. These eight inspired micro-resolutionists will receive a copy of our new book, It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure.. Thanks to the hundreds of you who submitted nearly 1,000 Six-Word Resolutions. Next contest: Six Words on Life in New York City.

Think like Barack, Do like Michelle.
Sarah S.

Make money. Find love. Keep both.
- Suzy L. (more…)

Writer Lara Tupper, a SMITH member whose six words, “My sluggish laptop; his archived porn,” are found on page 91 of Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak, sent in the photo above. She explains:

“I’m a member of the Writers Room in NYC and we had out holiday party recently. Here’s what turned up: one of two massive cakes with book covers (from members’ books published this year). See top for a fuzzy image of Love and Heartbreak.”

Thanks, Lara, you’ve made our chilly December a little been warmer, fuzzier, and that much sweeter.

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“It isn’t often that a therapist or a spiritual healer will self-disclose. When you’re in a place of teaching, it seems that there is a tendency to leave out the personal story, and I am about having people learn it for themselves. I wanted to loan everybody my shoes.”

Dr. Laurie Ann Levin grew up with a mystical sense that she was meant to be God’s messenger. She later translated this spiritual energy into her passion for film. For more than 25 years, she worked as an agent in Hollywood, representing such talents as Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Michael Keaton. Her intuition always played an important role in choosing new projects and navigating complicated family relationships. After enduring a series of challenges, including the death of her mother, a divorce, and difficulties getting her first films off the ground, she rediscovered her passion for psychology and spirituality. Her memoir details her journey from Hollywood to Moonview Sanctuary, the spiritual healing institute in Santa Monica that she founded in 2004 with medical partner Dr. Terry Eagan, and former CEO-turned-fiancée Gerald Levin. (more…)

Our new book, It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure is out in January and we’re hitting the road for events in NYC, Milwaukee, Austin, SF, Seattle, and back to New York for a very special night at the 92nd St. Y. We’ll tell stories about the making of the book (just how did Sarah Silverman come up with her six?), some of the weird, wild ways Six-Word Memoirs have become part of the culture (six-word prayers, anyone?), and, best of all, hear from contributors in cities across the country who tell their stories behind their stories (like the story of Jaynel Attolini’s “Lovesick. 1985. Suicide by Pop Rocks”—click on that link for one very fun minute). (more…)

A.D. has been cited on a number of year-end “best-of” and gift-giving lists. The New York Times gift guide cited the book, the San Jose Mercury News recommended it, and Vanity Fair magazine declared A.D. to be one of its five “better-than-a-sweater” gift suggestions.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoman listed A.D. as one of 2009’s best graphic novels, and MTV’s “Splash Page” blog called it the best nonfiction comic of 2009. A.D. was also cited numerous times on the Daily Cross Hatch’s list of “The Best Damned Comics of 2009 Chosen by the Artists.” (more…)

When it comes to decorating your home for the holidays, people tend to go overboard. And while it starts out innocently enough with some lights and a wreath, it usually doesn’t take long for things to escalate into a Clark Griswald-esque situation.

If you or someone you know is in the process of creating a spectacular holiday display for your community, and you happen to be an aspiring filmmaker, you should consider documenting the experience and submitting it to Mega Joy: A Collaborative Film Project on the subject of Christmas light enthusiasts. The winning submissions will be edited into in a feature-length documentary on the subject and their directors will receive a contract for the national distribution of their work. Submission guidelines, suggestions for possible themes, and all other necessary info can be found on the official application form. (more…)

“When you’re going through memories like that, you detach yourself. You become a researcher of your own life. That’s basically what it was; I became a researcher of my own life.”

A survivor of a devastating, decades-long civil war in his native Sudan, Valentino Achak Deng now uses his voice to advocate for his people. He partnered with author Dave Eggers to create What is the What, an autobiography that details Valentino’s journey as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, walking for weeks across dangerous open desert to escape the violence of war, as well as his resettlement in multiple refugee camps and later in the U.S. (more…)

“It’s unavoidable that the truth is subjective: a book might be true enough for you and not true enough for me.”

In his chronicle of the form, Memoir: a History, Ben Yagoda explains that the term memoir can be traced back to 1678. But the notion of being fascinated with our own and others’ lives actually goes back even further, to the development of glass mirrors at the end of the 15th century. We’ve been staring into that mirror ever since, a pastime that provides endless occupation for my two cats, millions of bloggers, and a handful of successful authors who pigpile the bestseller lists week after week. (more…)