400 Words: The Literature of Everyday Life

About 400 Words

400 Words is a storytelling project. It is a print magazine and a website, consisting of true stories, none over 400 words, by ordinary people on assigned themes. It's about the documentation of everyday life, saying a lot by saying a little. You can learn more, or order a copy, or tell a story of your own.

Print Issues

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Issue 2, Compulsions:
What can you not not do?

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Issue 1, Autobiographies:
Tell the whole story of your life in 400 words or less.

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For Further Enjoyment

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Microcosm Publishing
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The Public Journal
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StoryCorps
UpRightDown

It’s Only Sleeping

As you may have noticed if you follow this site, 400 Words is taking a bit of a sabbattical. We’ll be back soon with more new stuff, including print issue #3. In the meantime, hang out, peruse the archives, send in a 400-word autobiography if you want. Copies of print issue #2 are still for sale, and people who see the cute little books still can’t keep their hands off them. Get yours here.

Thanks for reading, and see you soon.


8 Comments

Glad to know you’re still here.

Posted by Shelli on 13 January 2008 @ 6pm

Print issue! Exciting!

Posted by Amanda on 16 January 2008 @ 6pm

Missing the daily fix of 400 words-looking forward to people talking again!

Posted by metheothertwin on 19 January 2008 @ 12pm

Will there be a reprint of issue #1? How cool to be sold out!

Posted by Rosemarie DiMatteo on 24 January 2008 @ 6pm

I’m thinking about a reprint of Issue #1! It would be a smaller press run so I’d have to charge a higher cover price to recoup the money. But if enough people could get interested…I’d really like to. I sold so many I only have about three left for myself! Eeek.

Posted by Katherine Sharpe on 25 January 2008 @ 1am

I just got my copy of Issue #2 in today’s mail. I would strongly suggest that you go ahead with another printing of Issue #1 so I can get one! :) Incidentally, I love the format of the book!

Posted by Joel Heffner on 30 January 2008 @ 2pm

Thanks, Joel. Now thinking about it quite seriously…

Posted by Katherine Sharpe on 28 February 2008 @ 12pm

>>These days I live in Brooklyn, NY

Posted by Joel Heffner on 28 February 2008 @ 8pm

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