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News from the world of No You Tell It

No, YOU Did It! Celebrating 2022

Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons here! Sending out accolades for all YOU helped us accomplish this year. Heck, over this past DECADE (wow…), with your love and support.

Keep us in mind for your end-of-year giving to support 10 more years! Click here to make your tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor The Field.

Want to make a donation via a Donor Advised Fund (DAF)? Yes, you can do so in support of No, YOU Tell It! through The Field. Contact us at noyoutellit@gmail.com for all the info.

Now, let’s take a look at 2022! Starting with this fantastic 10-year anniversary logo designed by alum storyteller, Zoom guru, and the all-around fabulous Noah Diamond.

JANUARY
WATCH No, YOU Tell It! “Anniversary Apart”

Kicking off our anniversary season, storytellers Chris Crowthers, Gaby Martineau, and Jenna Struble swap tales for our virtual show, “Anniversary Apart,” with support from Tim Lindner & Amanda Sisk as story coach(es) and director! And, of course, the aforementioned Noah Diamond.

All of our story trivia winners received a donation in their name in support of our friends at Friends with Four Paws. Plus a puppy named after them!

MARCH
WATCH No, YOU Tell It! “What I Know” 

In celebration of women’s history month, storytellers developed true tales inspired by the theme “What I Know” on the page. Watch them step into each other’s life experiences on stage. Featuring: Michele Carlo, Julia Granacki, Hannah Leland, and Sheria Mattis

Big thanks to our “What I Know” directors, Erika Iverson and Marcos Stafne.

Fun fact: Sheria Mattis and Michele Carlo’s swap is the most recent pair in the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology 2022, featuring a beautiful introduction by their director, Erika. Give it a read!

Special shoutout to Lee Anderson and Palm Circle Press for making the No, YOU Tell It! anthology a reality.

SEPTEMBER
WATCH No, YOU Tell It! “Punch Up” 

For our September Brooklyn Book Festival “Book End” Event, storytellers who write for the page and the stage developed true stories inspired by the theme “Punch Up.” Featuring: Jenn Wehrung, Aida Zilelian, Matt Storrs, and Maria Rubio.

Plus, guest host and director Ellie Dvorkin Dunn and fab story coaches Tim Lindner and Pichchenda Bao. 

No, YOU Tell It! was proud to receive a 2022 Queens Art Fund (QAF) grant. Both of our live shows at Culture Lab LIC were made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Thank You, QCA!

NOVEMBER
We celebrated the launch of the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology 2022 from Palm Circle Press with the first in-person event at The Astoria Bookshop since March 2020!

Thank you to contributors Ellie Dvorkin Dunn and Jeff Wills, who read that evening, and to everyone who came out.

Get or GIFT a copy of our anthology to read through ten years of stories and behind-the-scenes insights for the series. Local to NYC? We encourage you to purchase it through The Astoria Bookshop to support a small, local business.

DECEMBER
Just when you thought all of our anniversary fun was done…
Last week we were honored to receive one of THE BIG GIVE 2022 “Pay Your People” Grants from IndisSpace!

Check out this blog post on IndieSpace website with the links to the names and websites of all of the Pay Your People grant recipients at The Big Give 2022. Please visit their websites to learn more about their work and upcoming productions.

WHEW!! I’m so excited to tell you about the exciting No, YOU Tell It! plans for 2023, but I think I need a nap first…

All my love and gratitude for the support from our amazing No, YOU Tell It! friends and alums all these years. What an amazing journey; I can’t wait to see what the next decade brings.

Happy Holidays and wishing you a bright new year!
Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons

Give the Gift of Storytelling!

There’s still time to give the gift of storytelling and support our series! Follow @noyoutellit on Insta as we highlight story swaps featured in the anthology this holiday season.

Grab your copy now, available at The Astoria Bookshop and on Amazon.

Featuring:

December 15, 2022 Post Comment News Tags:

Tonight! Anthology Event!

Join us tonight, 11/10, from 7-8 pm, at The Astoria Bookshop. We’ll be reading from the anthology, taking questions, plus a chance to generate and trade your own tiny true tale. Click here for more info.

Can’t make it out tonight? Click here to grab a copy of the anthology from our friends at The Astoria Bookshop.  You can also purchase online from Palm Circle Press.

November 10, 2022 Post Comment News

Anthology at The Astoria Bookshop & Upcoming Event

Our ten-year anthology from Palm Circle Press is now also available through The Astoria Bookshop! We’ve had so many great memories here over the years and are looking forward to making more in the next ten years.

Save the date, 11/10 for our anthology event at the shop, and order your copy here.

October 28, 2022 Post Comment News Tags:

Ten-Year Anthology Out Now!

If you haven’t heard, we recently published a ten-year anthology with Palm Circle Press. This collection includes stories from over the past decade, along with behind-the-scenes insight from our creative team and storytellers about their experiences, showcasing how we became what we are today.

Click here to read the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology 2022 foreword from our own Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons.

You can order a paperback now or purchase the eBook. As an added bonus, the eBook links directly to the podcasts for each story so you can listen along as you read.

We’re currently #1 in new releases of drama and play anthologies, so let’s keep the streak alive!

October 11, 2022 Post Comment News

Watch “Punch Up” to Win!

Have you watched our “Punch Up” show yet? Don’t miss out on these stellar story swaps! There is also still a chance to win the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology 2022.

Watch the show on YouTube, play along with the story trivia at the end, follow @noyoutellit on IG, and DM us three correct responses to win a free copy!!

Left to right: Ellie Dvorkin Dunn, Tim Lindner, Maria Rubio, Matt Storrs, Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons, Aida Zilelian, Jenn Wehrung, Pichchenda Bao

THANK YOU for another amazing show!

Thank you to:

The storytellers for sharing and performing your work.
The creative team and story coaches for making this event possible.
Ellie Dvorkin Dunn for hosting!
Culture Lab LIC for the venue and all your help.
Brooklyn Book Festival Bookends Committee and Coordinator Stephan Herrera for having us for another #BKBF Bookend Event.
Queens Council on the Arts for helping make this possible.
Palm Circle Press for taking on the challenge of getting the anthology out into the world.

And everyone that came or live streamed the show! We couldn’t have made it 10 years without this community!

Ten-Year Anthology!

Big News! We are thrilled to announce that we’ll be publishing a ten-year anthology collection with Palm Circle Press. In this anthology, you’ll find several stories from the past decade along with behind-the-scenes insights from storytellers and the No, YOU Tell It! creative team.

Coming out in September! Stay tuned for more information!

Happy 10-Year Anniversary to Us!

Today is our official ten-year anniversary! May is also Kelly Jean’s birthday month!! Help us create ten more years of stories by donating here to our fundraising drive. Anything you can give is appreciated.

What does your tax-deductible donation support? We’re so happy you asked!

  • $25 helps provide literary prizes for story trivia at the live shows in support of local authors and independent bookstores.
  • $50 goes toward administrative fees, such as our Field membership and hosting costs for our website and podcast.
  • $100 supports the storytellers who commit hours of their time to two story development meetings and a theatrical rehearsal prior to the live show.
  • $300 secures experienced story coaches and directors who support our storytellers from page to stage.
  • $500 enables us to provide a professional live stream of the event to broadcast this unique event to an even larger audience. See what this looks like in the video below!

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 straight to the artists.

Don’t have the funds right now? Support our series witha FB like or Insta follow and share our podcast on your favorite socials.

Thank you for being a part of 10 wonderful years! Here’s to 10 more!!

Watch “What I Know”

Happy International Women’s Day! We’re so grateful these amazing people shared their stories with the world yesterday. With this year’s #breakthebias theme, we’re celebrating the women, gender non-conforming individuals, and allies across the world fighting to eliminate stereotypes and discrimination.

Couldn’t make the show last night? View the Culture Lab live stream below (show starts at 2:10 min) and keep an eye out for our podcasts in the coming weeks. If you feel moved, consider donating here to help us keep bringing stories like these into the world.

Event Information

Up Next: “What I Know” Show

Save the date for No, YOU Tell It! “What I Know” on Monday, March 7th at Culture Lab, LIC.

In celebration of women’s history month, four women storytellers have worked together to develop true tales inspired by the theme “What I Know” on the page. Come watch as they swap and step into each other’s life experiences on stage. Plus, play story trivia for the chance to win fun literary prizes.
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