The SMITH Gift Guide: 21 unique gifts for the writers
and storytellers in your life.

Six-Word Resolutions

SMITH and New York’s public radio station, WNYC, challenge you to write a Six-Word Resolution. Tell us your plans, dreams, motivations, and mistakes you hope not to repeat in 2010 in just six words. We’ll invite some of our favorite resolution writers to talk about their six words live on The Leonard Lopate Show on Dec. 29.

Six on Tour: It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure is out in January. Pre-order it now and come see us on tour in New York, Milwaukee, Austin, San Francisco, and Seattle. Join us for a very special night on January 24, where we’ll be talking about the short memoir form at NYC’s 92nd St. Y, with AJ Jacobs, Amy Sohn, and others.

Memoirville

Miranda Martin interviews Valentino Achak Deng, who partnered with Dave Eggers to create What Is the What, about the process of turning his life story—the story of millions of Sudanese who experienced the atrocities of civil war—into a best-selling book.
Plus: Larry Smith talks to Ben Yagoda, author of Memoir: A History, about his chronicle of the world’s most popular genre, how Mary Todd Lincoln’s assistant’s book begat today’s tell-all culture, and the three books every budding memoirist needs to read.

The Pekar Project

Harvey Pekar's foray into the digital age continues with biweekly installments of The Pekar Project, and his popular—yes— Twitter feed. Read Pekar’s latest, “ Groping for Answers,” masterfully, passionately, and provocatively illustrated by the one-and-only Rick Parker.
Plus: The Harvey Heads Galley, more than 120 artists’ renditions of Pekar’s famous noggin.

Member of the Month

Before Shanie Matthews found happiness, she shared an intense experience with SMITH readers, in our My Ex project. Now, happily married and blogging in Bariloche, Patagonia for the past two and a half years with her husband, she exudes happiness. Her six-word memoir? “ Scaring the timid with amazing positivity.” And we’re sure that she’s inspiring greatness all over Patagonia. She and her husband have started various nonprofits that help poor children with winter gear, on top of volunteering to teach English and educate locals about the importance of the environment. Did we mention they also saved three pups and a kitten from the streets recently? She definitely deserves the SMITH tee we’re sending her way.

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