The Detroit Memorybook Project
Keep Detroit in Circulation.
The bakery order. The block everyone played on. The person who always had a story.
We sit down with older Detroiters, write their stories down, and turn the best ones into illustrated books. Keepsakes go back to the storyteller. Free books go to Detroit kids.
How it works
The Supporters Club finds the stories.
Memorybook keeps them.
- Gather.
Detroit Supporters Club places already bring our people together. A bar, a camp, a lodge, a kitchen table.
- Listen.
Someone tells a story. We ask first, and they decide what’s shared and how they’re credited.
- Make.
The best stories are researched, written and illustrated into books.
- Give back.
A keepsake for the storyteller. Free books for Detroit kids, through schools and libraries.
First table, planned Pączki Day memories with up to 12 older Detroiters. Which bakery? Who got sent for the box?
Three ways to help.
Buy a book
Same Old Detroit pays for a free book for every eligible book you buy. It’s a purchase, not a donation.
Shop the booksDonate
Gifts go to Detroit Memorybook through Fractured Atlas and pay for the storytelling work.
Donate through Fractured Atlas (opens in a new tab)Make an introduction
A storyteller, a gathering place, a library or a sponsor we should meet.
Tell us whoWrite to us.
A person reads every note. A few lines is plenty. Nominating someone? Tell us how you know them, not their phone number or address. We’ll ask them ourselves.