Writer, Educator, and Storyteller
Read my literal hot take on Christian Slater in the latest TEEN Your Enthusiasm for HiLobrow.
One in a series of 25 enthusiastic posts, contributed by 25 HILOBROW friends and regulars, on the topic of heartthrobs from our adolescences). Series edited by Heather Quinlan.
I’m honored to be part of the limited first edition of the first publication from Ellipsis Rare books, The Corona Chronicle: Essays For New York, a charitable anthology collecting the insights, observations, and reflections of New Yorkers living through the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.
On sale for the first time this weekend at the Manhattan Antique Book and Ephemera Fair, this anthology is the end result of the late 2020 essay contest, where my entry, “My Timeline Stops March 10, 2020” was awarded second place.
Limited to 150 copies, each first edition of The Corona Chronicle anthology is hand numbered by project editor and Ellipsis Rare Books proprietor, Andrew Lenoir, who also offers a short contextual forward. The book was also designed by and features original artwork from Charlotte Anderson.
50% of all proceeds benefit the Food Bank For New York City, provider of 121 million free meals per year to New Yorkers in need.
I’m excited to announce that I’m a 2023 Queens Arts Fund recipient!
This project-based grant will enable No, YOU Tell It! to bring two new switched-up storytelling shows in partnership with the Greater Astoria Historical Society to Grove 34 in Astoria, first up on May 18th (get your tickets here!) and then as a proposed Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event in the fall.
Thank you to New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs for helping to support this work!
Click here for the full 2023 Queens Arts Fund award announcement.
Be sure to follow #QAF2023 for details on when and where you can experience the arts in Queens this calendar year!
No, YOU Tell It! is a treasure of a show. You have to witness it to really get how special it is. Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons assembled a team that puts so much heart and soul into guiding storytellers of different ages, races, genders, and backgrounds to swap stories, so that the performers are in each other’s shoes, as the saying goes. The result is hilarious and heartwarming, but also, such a profound experiment in fostering empathy. Everyone in the room, storytellers, show producers, and audience members, have an unforgettably moving evening of entertainment together, and that special sort of connecting of people going on in the show really is something to be cherished.
Kevin Allison, RISK!
What an incredible night at Symphony Space last week! We’re still on Cloud 9 and couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who made the night a success by attending in person, via the livestream, and/or donating. Check out more “College Try” photos on Facebook or Instagram.
Hey, while you’re there, why not LIKE or FOLLOW?
Special shout out to all who helped us provide free student tickets to high school juniors. We had a wonderful pre-show college essay jumpstart workshop, and the students loved the show!!
Plus, we raised $500 during our story trivia in support of Bottom Line.
Want to help No, YOU Tell It! provide more opportunities for future storytellers and students? Click here to make a tax-deductible donation.
What’s next? I’m so glad you asked. SAVE THE DATES:
I can’t think of a better way to kick off our 11th year!
Thank you again from myself and the NYTI Creative Team.
MAY marks the official 10-year anniversary of No, YOU Tell IT! and my birthday month! Give a listen to our very first show from May 2012 available on Audioboom, or on your preferred podcasting platform.
Help create 10 more years of switched-up storytelling! Donate here toward our goal of $2,300 raised in celebration of our anniversary and my birthday on 5/23.
What does your tax-deductible donation support? So happy you asked!
What separates our series is the collaborative time put into each show. This extensive workshop process is a blessing, but the time commitment can also be a challenge for participants and the creative team.
Therefore, as we strive toward a new decade of No, YOU Tell It!, we are dedicated to compensating all of the artists involved. Any size donation is greatly appreciated and goes to the artists.
Don’t have the funds right now? Support our series with a FB like or Insta follow and share our podcast on your favorite socials.
Thank you to all who have been a part of a wonderful 10 years!
Tonight! 7 pm Eastern (4 pm Pacific), I’m a guest on the Calvin Cato Show is on RushTix where Calvin is interviewing me along with “Dora Milaje alternates” V Lince and Celeste Joseph Jennings!
Just go to https://rushtix.com/events/calvin/ to get a ticket to the livestream.
Have you heard about #WorldReadAloudDay? Now you have! More answers next Friday, Feb 1st at 7 pm when The Astoria Bookshop hosts a World Read Along Day event, with four local authors including me!
Celebrate and curate a love of literacy and storytelling with community members and loved ones (and, if you like, bring a story of your own).