No, YOU Tell It!

We give our storytellers a new, evocative theme for each No, YOU Tell It! and ask them to come into our into our initial story meeting with a first draft inspired by that theme, allowing wide space for interpretation. For our “In Transit” show, Colby Black and Brian Hutchinson brought in distinct, yet perfectly parallel, stories […]

Does the internet bring us together or keep us isolated? When you learn about the death of a loved one via Facebook, the answer isn’t simple. Flashing back to our second show, ironically themed “Firsts,” Todd Faulkner reads “Confirmation: Or Mourning Becomes Electronic” written by our own Mike Dressel. (pictured left to right: Todd Faulkner […]

Was she my first diva? What else fell out of my vagina along with my kid?  These kinds of questions are best tackled at a literary bar crawl. We were thrilled to be part of the Queens Book Festival’s Q-boro Lit Crawl in Long Island City this past April as 10 of our alumni storytellers came […]

Today’s “Two on Tuesday” stories are from our “Uproar” show at Jimmy’s No. 43 on November 18th, 2014. Minna Zallman Proctor is an editor, essayist, and teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University where she is the Editor of The Literary Review. Here, Minna contemplates the stories we tell about ourselves and to […]

Starting out the second half of our recent “No Vacancy” show at Jimmy’s No. 43, Sydney Beveridge learned that the space between two college roommates is often more than the physical 12 feet separating their single beds. Here’s Liz Simons reading Sydney’s story “Brochure Worthy.” (pictured left to right Liz Simons and Sydney Beveridge) Finally, […]

Beginning our recent “No Vacancy” evening at Jimmy’s No. 43, a semester abroad is nearly ruined by one aggressive, sloppy, dim-witted, and perpetually horny housemate in Laura Forer’s story of her time in Spain. Give a listen to Bard Hovenga reading “No Comprendo.” Switching it up, Bard Hovenga’s inaction results in an less-than-ideal roommate set-up, one […]

Today’s Two on Tuesday stories were performed live as part of our “Dark Woods” show. Were you ever told you had an over-active imagination?  When you have an older sibling who loves to tease, it can be a tricky business. Chris Gebauer writes about the joys and terrors of childhood in “The Wolfman Cometh” read […]

Today’s pair of “Two on Tuesday” stories comes from our show LOCK & KEY. In “What Am I Doing Here?”, Ryan Holmes risks jeopardizing a new-found sense of security by being true to himself. It’s a story of negotiating friendship, and Los Angeles traffic, with bonus relationship advice from none other than the singer Tony […]

Today’s “Two on Tuesday” stories were performed live at Jimmy’s No. 43 as part of our WILD CARD show. Lucky at cards, unlucky in love. Can you be unlucky at both? And what if the cards are being dealt by a psychic? Her story “All in the Cards” was the first time writer Shelley Gazes’ […]

A year ago, we expanded No, YOU Tell It! by offering workshops at QED: A Place to Show & Tell in Astoria. These workshops are open to writers of all levels looking to switch-up their story.  (pictured left to right: Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons, Jessica Cannon, Carrie Haugh, Alessia Donati, Violet Olds, Katie Johnston, and Erika […]