Six-Word Memoirs is a project and book series created by the U.S. based online storytelling magazine Smith Magazine.
 | |
Type of site | Online Magazine |
|---|---|
| Editors | Larry Smith, Rachel Fershleiser |
| URL | sixwordmemoirs |
| Launched | 2006 |
History
editIn November 2006, Smith's editors Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser asked Smith readers to tell their life story in just six words, taking inspiration from a six word short story, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn”, popularly misattributed to novelist Ernest Hemingway.[1][2] Smith readers submitted their memoirs via www.smithmag.net and Smith's Twitter account. In early 2007, Smith signed with Harper Perennial to create the Six-Word Memoir book series.
Six-Word Memoirs books
editThe first in Smith's Six-Word Memoirs book series, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure was released in early 2008.[3] It collected almost 1,000 memoirs, including contributions from celebrities such as Richard Ford, Deepak Chopra, and Moby. It was a New York Times bestseller, featured in many stories in The New Yorker, and was highlighted on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation.[4][5][6]
In early 2009, Smith released a follow-up, Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak, containing hundreds of personal stories about romance.[7] Another follow-up was released in late 2009; I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure dealt with the experiences of teenage life and as such was written by and for teens.[8] The most recent in the series, It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure, was released in early 2010 and was marketed as the general sequel to Not Quite What I Was Planning.[9]
Recognition
edit- Not Quite What I Was Planning was listed as a New York Times bestseller in 2008 in the "advice, how to and miscellaneous" category.[4]
- In April 2009, The Denver Post listed Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak as the 5th bestselling non-fiction paperback in the Denver area according to sales at the Tattered Cover Book Store, Barnes & Noble in Greenwood Village, the Boulder Book Store, and Borders Books in Lone Tree.[10]
Community impact
editThe Six-Word Memoir format has been used as a writing exercise by teachers, with examples ranging from second-grade classrooms to graduate schools; furthermore, HarperCollins created a guide to encourage the format as an instructional tool.[11][12][13] Six-Word Memoirs have seen use in hospital wards, appeared in a eulogy, and suggested as a form of prayer by a preacher in North Carolina.[14] Six-Word Memoir videos from individuals ranging from teenager Micah Gray to bestselling author Daniel Handler have been posted to YouTube.[15][16] 6 Words Minneapolis, a public art project, employed the format to build community and empathy among citizens of Minneapolis.[17]
References
edit- ^ "Six Words Gets to The Point". Retrieved 2022-05-13.
- ^ Earle, Jamelah (21 September 2006). "For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn". Literary Kicks.
- ^ Smith, Larry; Fershleiser, Rachel (5 February 2008). Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061374050.
- ^ a b "PAPERBACK BEST SELLERS: ADVICE, HOW TO AND MISCELLANEOUS: Sunday, March 16th 2008". New York Times. 16 March 2008.
- ^ Widdicombe, Lizzie (17 February 2008). "Say It All in Six Words". The New Yorker.
- ^ "Six-Word Memoirs: Life Stories Distilled". National Public Radio. 7 February 2008.
- ^ Smith, Larry; Fershleiser, Rachel (6 January 2009). Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061714627.
- ^ Smith, Larry; Fershleiser, Rachel (1 September 2009). I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061726842.
- ^ Smith, Larry; Fershleiser, Rachel (5 January 2010). It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780061719431.
- ^ "Books: Local bestsellers". The Denver Post. 5 February 2009.
- ^ Norton, John (9 July 2008). "The Short, Happy Lives of Teachers". Education Week.
- ^ Smith, Larry (3 August 2008). "Mrs. Nixon's Third-Graders' Six-Word Storybook". Smith Magazine.
- ^ "Note to Teachers". Archived from the original on 17 April 2009.
- ^ Smith, Larry (8 October 2008). ""Fat man eats pie then farts"—Six-Words in Hospitals". Smith Magazine.
- ^ Gray, Micah (3 April 2008). "My Life in 6 Words". YouTube.
- ^ Handler, Daniel (1 February 2009). "Daniel Handler reads Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak". YouTube.
- ^ Lloyd, Emily (23 April 2013). "6 Words Minneapolis: a participatory public art project". Slideshare.