About this Service

Do you have an idea for a true story you want to tell but aren't sure where to start? Perhaps a topic you're dying to cover but don't know how to turn it into a narrative with compelling characters, emotional weight, and universal themes?

Want to learn the basics of podcast (or print!) nonfiction storytelling, get better at crafting pitches, or take your idea over the finish line?

I'm teaching a storytelling class through the Association of Independent Radio (AIR) next month and would love to see you there!

The class meets 6:00pm - 8:00pm EST on October 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th.

There are only a few days left to sign up!

YOU CAN SIGN UP BELOW

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Here's the description from AIR's website:

We’ve all heard an editor say, “This is really more of a topic than a story.” But the process of getting from one to the other can feel opaque and mysterious. How do you get from an interesting topic to a gripping, emotional, and nuanced narrative? In this class, we’ll figure it out. Students will come to the first class with a topic they’re interested in, which can be as general as they like. Over the course of four weeks, they will turn that topic into a story.

First, we’ll talk about what makes a good story, so that we know what we’re looking for. We’ll talk about how story-finding is partly about finding a story, but it’s also about crafting a story. We’ll talk about how to engineer the elements of a good story when they don’t appear to be there. And we’ll talk about learning to follow our intuition to find the “seeds” of the story throughout the reporting process. In the later sessions, we’ll go deep on how to interview for story and how to adjust your reporting plan as new information emerges.

The class will be collaborative, as we’ll workshop each other’s ideas and talk as a group about what intrigues us most as the stories take shape. Students will complete research, conduct interviews, and outline stories as homework. They’ll leave the class with an outline for a story and reporting well under way.

About this Lister

Hi! I'm an audio documentarian and multidisciplinary artist living in Brooklyn. I'm the creator and host of Sounds Gay, a podcast about queer music culture that came out last year. Sounds Gay told stories about:

- a feud between two lesbian battle rappers
- how the Christian music industry of the 2000s affected politics for decades
- a voice training videotape that was used by hundreds of trans women in the 1990s and then was lost to time...until now!

I love telling nuanced, complicated stories and experimenting with nontraditional story structures. My motto is "use the truth as the form." My other motto is "not #inspirational."

I came to podcasting via comedy writing (at Reductress, shout out) and I also make oil paintings and play music.

Background and Expertise

I have eight years of experience in audio, most recently as a Senior Podcast Producer at SiriusXM (Stitcher).

Sounds Gay was nominated for an IDA Documentary Award for Best Standalone Audio Documentary and an International Women's Podcasting Award. We were featured in n+1, The Guardian, New York Times Audio, and as an episode of 99% Invisible.

I trained at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies and have a BA from Wesleyan University.

Check out all my work on my website!

And feel free to hit me up with questions!