Larry Smith (editor)
Encyclopedia
Larry Smith is an American author and editor, and publisher of SMITH Magazine
. He is best-known for developing the "Six-Word Memoir" a literary subgenre that took on a life of its own in popular culture as publications began holding reader contests and publishing the results. The form has been described as "American haiku." Smith credits Ernest Hemingway
's reputed shortest story, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn,” with inspiring the viral literary movement.
, the son of Burlington attorney Louis Smith and his wife Carol, a clinical social worker.
He worked as a founding editor of the magazine P.O.V. and editor-in-chief of its sister publication, Egg, as well as an editor of Might magazine with Dave Eggers
. He was also managing editor of the news service AlterNet
. and editor of the city guide network, Boulevards
.
Smith also worked as executive editor of Yahoo! Internet Life
, senior editor at ESPN The Magazine
, and articles editor at Men's Journal
. His writing has appeared in The New York Times
, Popular Science
, Men’s Health, Salon, Slate, and other places.
In 2004, Smith's wife, Piper Kerman
, a graduate of Smith College
, had the unlikely experience during their engagement of serving a 15-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury
, CT, the result of a 1998 arrest for drug-related offense committed about five years prior. Smith visited her in prison most every weekend, and wrote about the experience in the New York Times. She wrote a book about the experience, Orange Is The New Black: My Year In A Women's Prison.
Two years later, Smith's book, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure, co-edited by Rachel Fershleiser, was selected as a Top 100 Editors' Pick by Amazon in 2008 and became a New York Times bestseller. Smith and Fershleiser went on to co-edit three more books in the series, including Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak, I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure, and It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure, all published by Harper Perennial.
Smith Magazine
Smith Magazine is a U.S.-based online magazine devoted to storytelling in all its forms. Smiths content is participatory in nature, and the magazine welcomes contributions from all its readers...
. He is best-known for developing the "Six-Word Memoir" a literary subgenre that took on a life of its own in popular culture as publications began holding reader contests and publishing the results. The form has been described as "American haiku." Smith credits Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
's reputed shortest story, "For sale: baby shoes, never worn,” with inspiring the viral literary movement.
Background and early career
Smith grew up in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, the son of Burlington attorney Louis Smith and his wife Carol, a clinical social worker.
He worked as a founding editor of the magazine P.O.V. and editor-in-chief of its sister publication, Egg, as well as an editor of Might magazine with Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
. He was also managing editor of the news service AlterNet
AlterNet
AlterNet, a project of the non-profit Independent Media Institute, is a progressive/liberal activist news service. Launched in 1998, AlterNet now claims a readership of over 3 million visitors per month .AlterNet publishes original content as well as journalism from a wide variety of other sources...
. and editor of the city guide network, Boulevards
Boulevards
Boulevards is a network of city guides on the Internet established in 1994 by Boulevards New Media Inc., an early digital media pioneer. It preceded other city guide networks such as Citysearch and Microsoft's now-defunct Sidewalk.com product, which launched under a similarly metaphorical brand and...
.
Smith also worked as executive editor of Yahoo! Internet Life
Yahoo! Internet Life
Yahoo! Internet Life was a monthly magazine published by Ziff-Davis, which licensed the name from Yahoo!, the well-known web portal and search engine website. It was created and launched by G. Barry Golson, the former executive editor of Playboy and TV Guide.It dealt with the emerging Internet and...
, senior editor at ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998....
, and articles editor at Men's Journal
Men's Journal
Men's Journal is an American men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and "gear". It is owned by Jann Wenner of Wenner Media....
. His writing has appeared in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Popular Science
Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
, Men’s Health, Salon, Slate, and other places.
In 2004, Smith's wife, Piper Kerman
Piper Kerman
Piper Kerman is an American memoirist.-Life:She graduated from Smith College, in 1992.In 1993, she became entangled with Nora, a lesbian who dealt heroin for a West African kingpin...
, a graduate of Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, had the unlikely experience during their engagement of serving a 15-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury
Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury
The Federal Correctional Institution Danbury is a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, north of downtown Danbury and from New York City...
, CT, the result of a 1998 arrest for drug-related offense committed about five years prior. Smith visited her in prison most every weekend, and wrote about the experience in the New York Times. She wrote a book about the experience, Orange Is The New Black: My Year In A Women's Prison.
SMITH Magazine and Six Word Memoirs
On January 6, 2006, National Smith Day, Smith co-founded the online SMITH Magazine with Tim Barkow.Two years later, Smith's book, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure, co-edited by Rachel Fershleiser, was selected as a Top 100 Editors' Pick by Amazon in 2008 and became a New York Times bestseller. Smith and Fershleiser went on to co-edit three more books in the series, including Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak, I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure, and It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure, all published by Harper Perennial.
Books
- Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. (with Rachel Fershleiser.) Harper Perennial, 2008. ISBN 978-0061374050.
- Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure—Deluxe Edition. (with Rachel Fershleiser.) Harper Perennial, 2008. ISBN 978-0061713712.
- Six Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak: by Writers Famous and Obscure. (with Rachel Fershleiser.) Harper Perennial, January 2009. ISBN 978-0061714627.
- I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure. (with Rachel Fershleiser.) Harper Teen, September 2009. ISBN 978-0061726842.
- It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure. (with Rachel Fershleiser.) Harper Perennial, January 2010. ISBN 978-0061719431.