​Do you like to hear stories told live? We do!

Or do you have a story to tell and would like help 

crafting it to submit for our story concerts, we now host 

free spoken word storycrafting workshops or work privately

with individual tellers via zoom. Contact us for info.

Flathead Story Concerts curators & hosts: 

Barbara & Glenn Schiffman 

Email us at story23fvcc@gmail.com 

or FOLLOW below  to get notices of dates

and Flathead Valley locations for 2025 events!

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Inspired by The Moth Radio Hour and PBS-TV's "Stories From the Stage,"
Flathead Story Concerts share pre-selected and inspiring true experience essays,
short stories or excerpts from novels or memoirs from multiple tellers.

These are curated and themed spoken word events; 

not open-mic storytelling.

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NEW: Spoken Word Storycrafting Workshops -- in-person

Check out our "Drop-in" free 2-hour sessions in 

October & November 2024 at the Whitefish Community Center.

Get details at our EVENTS postings or email us at

story23fvcc@gmail.com

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Latest Flathead Story Concerts in Kalispell :

Tuesday 9/17 at Sacred Waters Brewing

- 6:00-7:30pm (doors open at 5:30)

Free community event 

-- ages 16+ recommended

Flathead Story Concerts Sponsors include:

• Authors of the Flathead ~ writers helping writers, free weekly seminars ~ www.authorsoftheflathead.org

• The Bookshelf ~ new books by MT authors + used books in downtown Kalispell ~ www.bookshelfmt.business.site

• Sacred Waters Brewing ~ craft beers, great food & more ~ www.sacredwatersbrewing.com

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For details on submitting YOUR story 

(6-8 minutes total tell-time; 900-1200 written words) 

for potential participation in upcoming Story Concerts,

READ OUR SUBMISSION GUIDELINES below, 

or email us at: story23fvcc@gmail.com

Also read our blog post (below) about what we 

mean by "true stories" for Flathead Story Concerts.

We believe everyone has a story -- true or fictional 

-- and we want to hear YOURS!

NEW: STORYCRAFTING WORKSHOPS (Whitefish MT)

To help potential FSC tellers create and prepare stories for us, 

we are hosting in-person Spoken Word Storycrafting workshops 

in September, October & November 2024 at the

Whitefish Community Center. 

See our event postings for details - email or call for more info.

These 2-hour standalone workshops share tips on story structure 

and presentation skills as well as providing support and 

coaching for preparing spoken word stories. 

Attend one or more or all -- free admission!

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>> THEMES FOR 2025 STORY CONCERTS:
We are currently considering themes for 2025 FSCs.

Some of the ones we like are:

* Starting Over (when, where, how, why...)

* Coming to the Flathead (by birth or by choice...)

* Parents & Teachers (what I learned from them about life)

* Hard to Believe (astounding but true experiences)

If you have a story that fits any of these themes, we'd love to review it!

If you have a story about something else, submit it for review anyway -- 

If we love it, we can invite it as a "Wild Card"!

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You don't need to be a published or aspiring WRITER to participate. 

Some of the best stories we've heard are from ordinary folks with 

"universal" or extraordinary experiences or tales to share!

​

Our Story Concerts are also an effective and fun way

for writers who do book signings or readings to practice
verbally sharing your short stories or book excerpts.

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HOW TO SUBMIT:  

To be a Teller in one of our Flathead Story Concerts, 

submit your true story or short fiction / memoir excerpt in writing

(900-1200 written words = 6-8 minutes tell-time).

Include your full name, phone and email 

plus word count and telling-time minutes 

at the top of your written submission's first page.

There is no charge to submit your story or excerpt.

Submit completed stories only (not stories in-progress 

or in need of major editing for time and clarity) 

by email to us at story23fvcc@gmail.com

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STORY TYPES WE REVIEW & CONSIDER:

* True personal experience essays (YOURS = 1st person)

* Short or Flash Fiction (900-1200 words)

* Novel excerpts (unpublished = OK)

* Memoir excerpts (a portion of YOUR story)

​

WHAT WE ACCEPT & DO NOT ACCEPT IN CONTENT:

We seek true or fictional stories that can inspire and entertain all ages. 

They can be serious or humorous, but should be

memorable and (generally) uplifting.

Our events are "family friendly" -- but our stories are 

not  "anecdotes" or kid-lit tales. They need to have universal appeal 

and a message with a clear beginning, middle and conclusion.

True stories should have an opening "hook" and 

lead to a conclusion that shares what you learned from

this experience as well as your story's "takeaway" 

meaning for Listeners.

Exceptions: "Colorful language" is acceptable (within reason), 

but we will not consider adult-only (pornographic, abusive or violent) 

material or overtly offensive language.  All stories 

must also be religion-political-gender issue neutral!

+ ++ + +

HOW LONG SHOULD STORIES BE:

Tell-Time = 6-8 minutes avg. per Teller

This equals approx. 900-1200 written words. 

RE TIMING for live telling: Practice your story out loud 

and TIME IT before submitting to us.
If it is too short or too long we will not consider it 

without revisions or editing by you.

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SUBMIT  VIA EMAIL -- AS ATTACHMENTS:
Formats accepted: Word doc/docx files or PDFs only.
Any other formats will not be reviewed.

SUBMISSIONS MUST INCLUDE:

WORD COUNT + STORY TELL-TIME MINUTES,

YOUR FULL NAME, EMAIL, PHONE 

(in email text & also on attachment)

EMAIL SUBJECT LINE = "Story Concert submission"

After we get your submission -- 

We'll email-reply that we've received it (via story23fvcc@gmail.com).

If you do not get a notice of receipt from us within a week,
please SUBMIT again or phone us to make sure we got it
(some emails go to spam; always good to check receipt).

If your story has potential for a 2024 event, we will notify you 

by phone or email -- make sure we have your name and contact info!

HOW DOES IT WORK?

If your story is selected for potential participation, we will reach you to schedule a 

verbal "audition" by Zoom. If you're then invited to share it in an upcoming Story Concert,
we will expect you to promote  your event to friends, family and local groups you're part of. 

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WILL YOU NEED TO MEMORIZE YOUR STORY?

NO. Unlike other spoken word events -- i.e. The Moth, Tell Us Something-Missoula 

or Pivot Spokane -- we DO NOT require you to memorize your story 

or tell it live without notes.

But you must be familiar enough with telling it out loud

to do so comfortably within our 6-8 minute timeframe.

We will provide editing suggestions &/or presentation coaching to invited Tellers if/as needed.

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QUESTIONS: Call Barbara Schiffman at 747-238-0038.
Leave your full name + phone# -- say you're calling about Story Concerts - thanks!​