Here’s Kris Rusho of Oswego, with a story about playing chess with her grandfather that left not a dry eye in the house at the Howl Story Slam Grand Slam at Pickens Hall.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

Here’s Flip Filippi of Canton, who has chosen to live her life car-free, and biked her way into all of our hearts and consciences at the Howl Story Slam Grand Slam at Pickens Hall.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

Bill Torrey, who won our Plattsburgh Howl Story Slam, came back to the Grand Slam at Pickens Hall with this story about the risks a teenage boy will take to spend some alone time with a girl.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

Tanya Roy had us rolling in the aisles at the Howl Story Slam in Clayton, NY in Summer 2016, and did it again at our Grand Slam event in Heuvelton, NY. Her missed opportunity happened on a night in Syracuse that was supposed to start with Dinosaur Barbecue and end with a Dave Matthews band concert. But somewhere in the middle, misplaced car keys and concert tickets get in the way of her plans.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

We first met Michael Cunningham at the Howl Story Slam in North Creek on September 11. Just a few days later he joined us in Heuvelton for the Howl Grand Slam event. It was there that Michael shared his story “Man of the House. ” He recalled the moment as a child when his father unexpectedly returned from the war in Vietnam, and Michael realized his father was no longer the dad he used to know.The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

We first met Samantha Stinson at the Howl Story Slam in Potsdam on September 17, 2016. Her story there won her a spot in our Grand Slam at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton just a few days later. There she told us about missing a professional opportunity because of her unexpectedly growing family.Samantha Stinson lives in Potsdam. She recently earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Voice Performance from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. She told her story at our Howl Grand Slam event in Heuvelton on September 22.

We first met Elaine Kuracina at the Howl Story Slam in Potsdam on September 17. Her story there won her a spot in our Grand Slam at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton just a few days later. It was there that she told the story of sacrificing big city dreams for a life in the North Country, only to realize that she probably gave up nothing at all. The Adirondack Center for Writing is co-sponsor of the Howl Story Slams

In February 2016, North Country Public Radio teamed up with the Adirondack Center for Writing to bring true life storytelling to locations across the region. We started with Saranac Lake and moved the Howl Story Slam to a dozen locations from Canton to Old Forge, Plattsburgh to North Creek.At each slam, we selected a few winners and they came together on September 24, 2016 at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton, NY for the season’s finale. We begin with Rick Chandler, who we first heard in Saranac Lake, with a story about boxing, high school and self-awareness.