Creative, Not Famous: The Small Potato Manifesto

The Genius Grant you so rightly deserve

I found Creative, Not Famous inspiring, reassuring, and relatable. There’s a sense of community amongst small potatoes. We have to be support each other in a world that often ignores us, and if it recognizes us, it can be quite dismissive. This pocket-sized manifesto can be tucked into a knapsack or handbag. Creative, Not Famous is a book of encouragement and advocacy for small potatoes everywhere.

Full of wisdom, practical advice, anti-capitalist ethos and joy that will inspire any artist to get cracking and stay excited about their work.

Ayun Halliday’s writing had buoyed my small-potato spirit since her genius genre-bending “Neonatal Sweet Potato” first appeared in my zine P.O. Box in the ‘90s—was it puppet show script? Was it a NICU vigil? Did it matter? Her ability to transmute love and anxiety into creative inspiration felt like something akin to magic. Now she’s collected all her best hard-won knowledge and advice plus a whole bunch of other artists' and writers' best hard-won knowledge and advice and we all win! This book is the antidote to both imposter syndrome and the bullshit of every gatekeeper you’ve ever met. Every writer and artist—aspiring, emerging, or old and bitter—must read it.

What a great project, full of great insights from artists I love!