Word For Word Kicks Off Festival Of Short Stories In November

Word for Word launches their first festival of short stories entitled "Exactly!" They Said... running November 1-7, short stories by California writers brought straight to the stage at multiple locations."Exactly!" They Said... November 1-7.

The Word for Word Company has performed short stories verbatim on stage for the past 25 years. The company extended this singular experience to writers throughout California, soliciting short stories from all points of view, from California's rich diversity of writers, published or unpublished.The Festival received 160 entries, from writers of all ages, professionals, amateurs, and students, all from California.

November 1 Fri., 7 pm Greg Sarris and Amy Tan join Word for Word for an opening launch event at JCHS, 7 pm (Jewish Community High School).

Nov 2, Sat.,8 pm Adult Stories will be staged at Z Below

Nov 3, Sun., 5 pm Adult Stories will be staged at Z Below with

Teen Stories performed November 7 Thurs., 7:30 pm in the

Children's Creativity Museum at Yerba Buena Gardens.

All tickets online at www.zspace.org

The winners and their short stories for this "Exactly!" They Said...inaugural festival (adult section) are: Michael Alenyikov, "Arithmetic"; Kim Addonizio, "Cancer Poems"; Anita Cabrera, "The 14 Mission"; Lindsey Crittenden, "The Ruins" and Katherine Lieban, "Blue Ruin". The winning stories will be directed as staged readings by Word for Word core company members featuring a diversity of Bay Area actors. The subjects of the stories by the five winning authors range from: four teen boys deal with death and sexuality in early 1960's Brooklyn in "Arithmetic" by Michael Alenyikov; the denizens of a community college Poetry Intro class in "Cancer Poems" by Kim Addonizio; encounters on a grungy 14 Mission bus in "The 14 Mission" by Anita Cabrera; a dangerous Napolitan teen remembrance in "The Ruins" by Lindsey Crittenden and orphan's awareness of The Miracles of her hardscrabble desert life in "Blue Ruin" by Katherine Lieban.

The response from teens was so large that there is an added a teen story division in the Festival. The writers in the Teen story division have interests encompassing the Warriors, LGBTQ groups, the violin, "scholarly cats" -- and all of them love to write. The winners and the stories of the Teen Section are Kenzo Fukuda, "Middle School Advice"; Tess Horton, "Atop the SaltbackMountain"; Sofi Orkin, "Here's a Theory Darling"; Stella Pfahler, "The Magnolia Man"; Charlotte Pocock, "Matter of the Heart and Mind" and Maya Reihanian, "Cancer".