Kristofic's memoir, Navajos Wear Nikes: A Reservation Life, was published this spring. It reveals stories about the author's coming of age in Ganado, a Navajo reservation in Arizona. He will sign books from 1 to 4 p.m. at Farley's Bookshop in New Hope on June 25. Following the signing, he will host an hour-long writing workshop from 6 to 7 p.m. The workshop is free but registration is required. For more details, visit http://farleys.indiebound.com.



His account of life on the "rez" is unique in part because Kristofic is not Navajo by birth; he is a blue-eyed "bilagáana" (white man) from Pittsburgh. In the book, he shares anecdotes that are amazing but true, like being dragged by a donkey, catching a hawk with his bare hand, and being chased by a witch.



"The book is about growing up on the rez, learning about the people around me while trying to understand myself," Kristofic said.



Kristofic, 29, is a skilled and humorous storyteller who said he enjoyed sharing tales from his past well before the book came out.



"At school, he divulged fascinating stories about 'rez' lore, Native American life and his personal experiences," said Steven Sander, one of his students. "I am very familiar with his story telling and his personal voice, which I can really identify with when I am reading [the] book, which is really cool."



Kristofic is a voracious reader who spent every Saturday as a kid reading in a side room while his mother attended college classes.



"I always wanted to write a book," Kristofic said. "I read a lot of Stephen King and started writing in middle school."



The inspiration for the book came from a creative writing class he took while attending college in Pittsburgh. The assignment was to write about a non-fictitious moment in his life that was a "fantastic reality."



"I wrote about the day all the teachers butchered a sheep at school," Kristofic said. "I was homesick all four years of college, and writing about it helped. I could go home when I was writing. I kept writing essays, another one and another one, and then I wrote it as a book."



Now living in Lansdale, Kristofic has several other books underway, including a collection of supernatural "rez" stories, a young adult series about reservation life, and an oral history for which he is interviewing former staff and students of a mission in Ganado.



"I wanted this to be my first book in order of importance. I had a desire to write honestly and do a good job as a craftsman," said Kristofic. "The oral history I'm working on is very personal and emotional, so I felt like I should pony up and share my own stories first, to help relieve people of their anxiety."



Kristofic said he was nervous about the reaction to his book, especially from folks in Ganado. But so far the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and the majority of people who "like" his page on Facebook are from the reservation.



"I'm really happy that people can read a book about where they're from and feel a sense of pride," said Kristofic. "People from the rez see art from their region and get really happy about it."



Among his many fans are his students, several of whom turned out for a book signing and storytelling at Doylestown Bookshop May 21.



"We can tell that Mr. Kristofic really does love what he teaches every day in class. He has an infectious love of the arts that has really influenced me to unplug and rediscover true literature and culture," said Sander. "It is a true honor and privilege to be his student."



Navajos Wear Nikes is available online and in bookstores.