Welcome to the York Story Slam podcast, where we feature select stories from our monthly open mic storytelling events in York, Pennsylvania.

On November 18, nine winners from our monthly open mic story slams returned to compete for the title of Best Storyteller in York. We gathered at the Appell Center for the Performing Arts in downtown York, who have hosted all 10 of our annual Grand Slams in the beautiful Capitol Theatre.

The theme for the evening was OOPS. We heard stories about encounters with sea and land creatures, standing up to authority, and lessons learned from a younger generation.

In the end, our winner was Matt McDunnell — our very first two-time Grand Slam Champion — who shared his story about an accident with his mother’s glass China cabinet.

Matt took home the trophy and bragging rights as the Best Storyteller in York. Next up we have a story from Mike Reed, who told his story about his efforts to make it to vacation in time for the big game.

Our final story on this month’s podcast comes from Mark Lentz, who shared his story about developing his approach as a wrestling coach.

The themes for our 2026 season have already been announced on our website, YorkStorySlam.com, so take a look. While you’re there, you can sign up for our monthly newsletter, the easiest way to know when tickets go on sale to join us in January and all year long at our NEW location on the first floor of the Grotto Community Center at 17 East Philadelphia Street in the heart of downtown York. You can also follow us on Facebook, and watch videos of all the stories from our events on our YouTube channel.

We hope to see you on stage soon! Thanks for listening.